It had to be difficult for Thomas Travis, now the administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, to contemplate the changes to the landscape resulting from the Kilauea eruption. Kapoho Bay filled in with lava completely, a startling occurrence for anyone watching this historic natural disaster, but Kapoho was once Travis’ home, too.

The retired Navy captain, who took over the helm of the embattled agency in March, lived there between 2011 and 2016, in time to witness the previous eruption near Pahoa, not far away. The tumult this time, of course, is incomparable, with hundreds of homes destroyed.

Travis is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. The highlights of his 30-year career included postings as commanding officer of the USS New York City, commander of Submarine Squadron Eleven, and chief of staff and deputy commander of Carrier Group Eight. The former national security analyst also edited foundational studies on Operation Iraqi Freedom and the federal government response to Hurricane Katrina.

He arrived at HI-EMA just after its own eruptive phase. Public confidence in the agency was damaged when a January practice run of the alert system produced a false alert of an incoming missile launch from North Korea. A text message that circulated statewide frightened thousands for 38 minutes before the all-clear was sent.

Restoring the public faith was high on Travis’ to-do list — with reorganization and review of the various alert systems that link to the public.

But then another need for restoration took precedence.

“Rebuilding a community and recovering that sense of connection and place takes more than money and building materials,” he said about the Kilauea eruption. “It takes a great deal of respect and humility, which are not things the government is often very good at.”

QUESTION: What is your assignment in the volcanic rift zone? What are your days like?

ANSWER: I had two primary assignments: continue to act as administrator of HI-EMA while also participating in the governor’s task force addressing potential hazards at the Puna Geothermal Venture site.

In my capacity of HI-EMA administrator, I participated in briefings each day to maintain situational awareness of our overall response and our coordination with FEMA and the county. I was fortunate to have very capable section chiefs to manage the day-to-day operations.

For PGV, the task force had a daily operational rhythm of discussions, briefings and site visits to keep abreast of development, plan for future steps, and monitor conditions at the site.

The challenge with PGV was that the pace of the flow changed over time, and our reaction time had to change with that. I think my previous knowledge of PGV and my presence with experts at the site and around the world helped us deal with the situation effectively.

Q: You lived in Kapoho previously, so you were there for the 2014 eruption? How did that experience affect your approach now?

A: Living in the area made me acutely aware of what a tight-knit community it is. The beauty of the area is matched by the warmth of the people who live there. Its sense of caring reminds me that a community is not simply a group of people and a collection of buildings; it is the bonds between them.

That personal connection to Kapoho also reminds me that as we help the community recover from this loss, we are not simply building houses or looking for places for people to live.

I hope my experience, along with the connections felt by many in Hawaii County, from Mayor (Harry) Kim down, will help us accomplish something special for these neighbors.

Q: Some lawmakers have discussed having a special session to deal with the recovery. What are Puna’s greatest emergency needs?

A: There will be a vital need for housing and rebuilding the community. With hundreds of homes destroyed and many other potentially cut off from transportation and infrastructure, we need to assist these people in putting their lives back together.

There are resources through the federal government — possibly including FEMA — that can help, but we should be willing to fill in the gaps.

The residents of this area have lost more than houses. They have lost a community. That extends well beyond the economic devastation to the spirit of a unique place that I knew personally and loved.

Part of what we do has to be to rebuild that sense, and that is something that is probably outside traditional government programs.

Q: With the back-to-back emergencies, how are you dealing with ongoing challenges on Kauai?

A: Kauai is in a different phase of assistance. Their immediate lifesaving needs have been met, and they’re now deeply into the recovery phase.

We’re providing resources to return to a sense of normalcy. That allows us to assign our Disaster Assistance Section to those tasks, while leaving much of our operations and logistics personnel available for the Kilauea event.

Kilauea is still at a stage where quick action is required, tracking lava flows, anticipating advances, and preparing for events like evacuations. That calls for different assets and a different type of planning.

At the same time, FEMA is on the ground here assisting with both Kauai and Kilauea, along with other assistance, and again different assets are assigned to the various events as necessary.

Q: How is HI-EMA changing, in the wake of the January “false alarm” controversy?

A: It’s a constant process of change and adjustment. It didn’t take the missile alert to tell us that we need to constantly look for ways to improve and to address developing threats.

In fact, it was HI-EMA’s efforts to lean forward on the Korean ballistic missile threat that led us to develop the enhanced siren alerts to begin with. At the time, a lot of people nationally and internationally thought it was a compelling idea.

The real impact of the false alarm may have been to remind us that we must be more thorough in our analysis of threats, and that good intentions are not enough to keep us from making potentially serious mistakes.

At the same time, we cannot be afraid to act with purpose when it comes to emerging challenges. That’s the balance we constantly seek, and something that the missile alert reminded us very clearly.

Q: How does your military training prepare you for this job? What is the key difference?

A: Military training is very effective in encouraging strategic thinking. We will never have all the assets we would like to accomplish our missions with ease. There will always be challenges. How do we meet those with the resources available? Where do they have the most impact? Which approach serves our mission?

In emergency management, as in military operations, there must be a focus on mission; we need to have a clear idea of what we are trying to accomplish. That discipline is valuable here as well.

A big difference is that civilian activities are of a different nature than military operations. Our staffing realities are different, as are our public information needs. This calls for more flexibility and a greater effort to include the public in our planning and decision-making.

Q: What improvements would help Hawaii better weather the next emergency?

A: We are learning that improvements are needed in the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. These inform the public in the event of an emergency, with the former playing over TV and radio, and the latter being delivered through smartphones.

Recent experience has shown us that the systems are not as robust or reliable as we thought, or as we need.

We are also aware that our emergency alert systems are not sufficient to reach some members of our community with disabilities, including those with limited hearing and vision. That’s a concern facing emergency agencies across the nation, so we’re trying to be proactive.

One improvement that we have made significant progress on is our program of upgrading and modernizing our siren network, including adding new sirens to the system, which will serve the public better for the range of hazards we plan for.