Hawaii disaster preparedness put to test

How prepared is Hawaii for a disaster?

The community is invited to find out at a series of disaster preparedness events that will kick off with a free disaster preparedness workshop, hosted by the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, on Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hawaii Convention Center.

"We look forward to meeting you, introducing you to each other and engaging in a rich discussion on disaster recovery, one of the least examined phases of disaster management," said Gregg Nakano, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center’s disaster recovery course program coordinator. "The workshop will be a balance of sharing traditional concepts of disaster recovery planning as well as exploring your perspectives, experiences and insights into how to help local communities and state planners better prepare for recovery before a disaster."

Jim Schwab, manager of the American Planning Association Hazards Planning Research Center; Gavin Smith, executive director of the Coastal Hazards Center; and Carolyn Harshman, president of Emergency Planning Consultants, are coming from the mainland to lead the workshop, which will set the groundwork for an upcoming Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-sponsored course on pre-disaster recovery planning. The workshop, which is called "Advanced Disaster Recovery Strategies for Local Communities," will be held in advance of the Pacific Risk Management Ohana (PRiMO) 2014 conference.

The three-day conference, which will be held Tuesday through Thursday and requires paid participation, is sponsored by PRiMO and the newly created nonprofit Partnership for a Pacific Resilience. Its aim is to establish relationships and trust between agencies so that they can work together effectively to mitigate and respond to disasters, said Bill Thomas, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Services Center.

The Hawaiian Islands are generally ill-prepared to respond to vulnerabilities like floods, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tsunamis, pandemics and hurricanes, or the coastal erosion, subsidence and ecological change that threatens its coasts, Thomas said.

"Look at what happened with the last tsunami: We didn’t have a lot of damage, but it’s still a problem," he said. "A lot of Kakaako is filled, and Magic Island was created. We’re still building in areas of high risk. Our aging infrastructure is coastal. Our food and energy supply is challenging. What happens if the harbor goes down?"

Thomas said Thursday’s conference session, called "Applications of Coastal Hazard Mitigation and Climate Change Mitigation," will discuss future building plans in Kakaako.

"We are trying to have a conversation with some of the (Kakaako) landowners," he said.

The workshop and conference coincide with the second Resilient Hawaii Forum, a free session at the convention center at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The event is hosted by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in November to a task force on climate preparedness and resilience. At the event, Abercrombie is seeking input on how the federal government can better support state and local climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience efforts.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to share Hawaii’s unique needs, challenges and innovative solutions, while advising federal officials on what kind of support is needed and what would be most effective here in the islands," Abercrombie said in a written statement. "Members of the president’s task force from every part of the country agree this is the challenge of our time and we must work together to prepare for and mitigate impacts."