Hurricane Lala has claimed a victim, Gov. Josh Green said Monday during a press conference in Hilo after he and Mayor Kimo Alameda viewed the devastation in Ka‘u via helicopter and foot.

“While we were there, police discovered the lost soul, a 90-year-old woman that perished in the flood,” Green told reporters. The woman, officials said, had been reported missing Monday morning.

“Her family will be alerted. Na‘alehu’s a very small town. Everyone’s already coming together and grieving,” the governor said.

Calling it “an emotional day,” Green said he saw sadness but also inspiration during his visit to the storm-ravaged district.

“People are already beginning to recover, but it’s tough,” he said. “They still need water. They still need power, like many people in the state. We also saw people already putting their lives back together.

“I’m flooded with emotion, because that’s where I was given the honor to be the doctor when I first came to Hawaii. I literally saw dozens of my old patients and embraced them, years after being their doc.”

Echoing what others previously said, Green noted the damage in Ka‘u was more the product of flooding than winds from the then-Category 1 storm which passed less than 100 miles south of Hawaii Island early Sunday.

“Without a doubt, the wind had affected roofs in some areas,” he said. “It certainly blew down trees all over the place. But it’s the flood and the mud and the rocks that poured through Na‘alehu, Pahala, Waiohinu. These communities have a lot of cleanup to do, and there’s going to be a lot of support.”

Green said he and Alameda decided to close public schools, state and county offices and state courthouses on Hawaii Island today for a second straight day.

”We can also expect the schools down in Na‘alehu and Ka‘u are going to be closed for some time. We’ll get updates from the Department of Education … ,” he said. “Everyone was worried about their kids because, obviously, they’re going to be out of school for some time.”

Both the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College will also be closed today, although UH-Hilo will hold student housing move-in day.

According to Green, what he saw at Ka‘u High and Elementary School in Pahala reminded him of the damage sustained from the Kona low storms in March by Konawaena schools in Kealakekua.

Green said state employees with children unable to attend their schools because of storm damage will be accommodated with personal leave.

“No one is going to be penalized if they’re a public worker who has to take care of their child … because we are recovering,” he said.

The governor also delivered some hopeful news, especially for the Pahala community that has been severed from the rest of the island by road and bridge damage and blockages.

“We saw that the structures that we were worried about, like the bridges, may not be as bad off as we thought originally,” he said. “There was an incredible mount of debris on top of them in the first 48 hours. County and state road crews “were all over it … already removing that debris.

“We could see that the structures looked pretty sound. They’re, of course, going to have to do the engineering tests to make sure, but we don’t think the community will remain isolated for long.”

Green said a temporary road will likely be cut above Ka‘u Hospital in Pahala by the state Department of Transportation “so we can access the hospital more easily.”

“The hospital itself is looking good and is … going to need its power restored permanently. Right now, it’s running on generator, which is fine,” he said.

As of 6 p.m. Monday there were still 38,196 Big Island customers without power, according to Hawaiian Electric Co.

“Hawaiian Electric acknowledges the challenges of being without power for more than a day and assures that crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to repair damages to restore all customers,” HECO said in a statement. “While restoration times are not readily available for specific neighborhoods, the company is committed to providing updates as soon as damage assessments are completed.”

Acting Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said one of the challenges faced by HECO repair crews is the sheer number of transmission lines and, in some cases, the location of those lines — which in some cases necessitate road closures. He used a Kona location as an example.

“We have a situation up on Kaloko that’s a critical site for communications, telecommunications,” Oliveira said. “There’s no less than 30 sections of line down on just that one road, which gives you an idea of how many … impediments there are on these sections of road.”

Maj. Gen. Steve Logan, state adjutant general and director of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said there are about 60 soldiers and airmen who are activated “to assist the county in going to those neighborhoods, specifically up in Na‘alehu, to go door-to-door and ascertain if people are there, if they are missing, or if they can be located.”

That includes a team of highly-specialized personnel with “exquisite skills in search and extraction and also fatality search and recovery, if that becomes necessary.”

“Because of the path of the storm and the impact that was felt, Hawaii County is our priority right now,” Logan said.

Those served by Punaluu Water and Sanitation, LLC Public Water System and Wood Valley Water and Farm Co-op Public Water System — two rural public water systems in Ka‘u — are cautioned to boil their tap water first before drinking. Both water systems sustained heavy damage caused from Lala, losing pressure in distribution lines.

In addition, the county Department of Water Supply continues to ask customers to limit its water consumption to “essential uses only.”

Green said that Hawaii Food Alliance is bringing in “an enormous amount of recovery water and supplies right now in partnership with Mayor Alameda.”

There were no dollar estimates of damages sustained, but Green said there has been an anonymous gift of $3 million worth of clothing for those in need and a “major gift” from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The governor also assured Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients who those who lost their SNAP cards in the storm will “be able to get those replaced.”

He also urged private individuals with means to kokua.

“What we saw today are a lot of people that are bruised. We saw a lot of people that need help,” Green said. “If you are going to support the community, please give to the Red Cross, please give to the Hawaii Community Foundation.”

Email John Burnett at john.burnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.