Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency to gather input on hazard mitigation

A series of meetings across the state this month will give members of the public an opportunity to weigh in on the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The first in a series of meetings to be held throughout the month of April is set for 4 p.m. HST on Wednesday, April 5, at the Hawaiʻi Department of Defense complex on 22nd Avenue in Honolulu.

Other in-person meetings are scheduled for Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i counties later in the month. The planned schedule is listed below:

• April 5, O‘ahu: 4-5 p.m., 424 22nd Avenue, Building 300 Gymnasium, Honolulu
• April 17, Hawai‘i County: Hilo
• April 18, Hawai‘i County: Kailua Kona
• April 19, Moloka‘i: Kaunakakai
• April 20, Maui: Kahului
• April 24, Kaua‘i: Lihu‘e
• April 25, Lana‘i: To be determined

The meetings had originally been planned for December, but they were postponed because Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) personnel who were organizing them were assigned to work on the Mauna Loa volcanic eruption.

“We fully update these plans every five years because they’re a key tool we use to reduce or eliminate the harm caused by the hazards we face across Hawai‘i,” said James Barros, administrator of HI-EMA in an agency news release.

The State and counties rely on these hazard mitigation plans to guide their efforts to protect communities against the threats of flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis and other hazards.

Because those hazards evolve over time and may be different on different islands, HI-EMA will hold meetings on each of the major islands to allow members of the public to provide input for the 2023 State Hazard Mitigation Plan. HI-EMA gathered public input from across the state for the 2023 plan during a virtual meeting in December via video chat.

Updates are posted at the State Hazard Mitigation Plan webpage.