Hawaii Announces Automated SNAP Replacement Benefits After Tropical Cyclone Lala

The Hawaii Department of Human Services announced measures to assist SNAP recipients affected by Tropical Cyclone Lala, including an automated mass replacement of a portion of August benefits. The announcement was made in early September 2026, covering households in federally approved disaster areas identified as Hawaiʻi County, Honolulu, and West Maui. Under the plan, affected households in the approved disaster areas will automatically receive a 45% replacement of their August SNAP benefits, loaded onto EBT cards as early as Thursday morning without requiring an application. Households located outside these automatically approved areas may still seek replacement benefits by submitting written statements, with an extended deadline of September 13 to do so. According to the Hawaii Department of Human Services, the statewide SNAP caseload totals 84,889 households. The replacement benefits are being distributed automatically for eligible households in the designated disaster zones, while the process for other affected recipients requires proactive application before the September 13 deadline. It remains unspecified how many of the 84,889 total households are located within the federally approved disaster areas versus how many would need to apply separately. Further details on processing timelines for written-statement applications were not provided in the available reporting.