HONOLULU -- Barges of goods bound for Kona on the Big Island have been forced to either wait outside Kawaihae Harbor or detour to Hilo.

State and local officials are assessing the damage wreaked on the harbor by the first major earthquake to hit the islands in decades.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency Administrator Troy Kindred said Kawaihae Harbor has serious issues. He said he is uncertain how long the closure will be in effect.

Damage included ruptured water lines and ruptured fire hydrant lines, cracks to sheds and a crack running nearly the length of one of the harbor's two state-owned piers, according to state officials.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka spent the day surveying Big Island earthquake damage from the ground and the air.

An Army National Guard helicopter flew the senators over the Kona coast. The arrived back in Honolulu on an Army National Guard plane.

They said they were especially surprised by extent of damage at Kawaihae Harbor.

"It was terrible to see the piers were disconnected from the land and then put back again," Akaka said. "So it will require some extensive work there. We looked at it with the idea of repairing it, but we may have to rebuild it." Inouye is scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday, where he said he will push for immediate federal funds to help repair damaged roads and bridges.

It is too early to estimate how much it will cost to fix the piers, State Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.