Image of DCAB acronym with ISA in the letter B
Disability and Communication Access Board
State of Hawaii

Emergency Preparedness E-News
for People with Access and Functional Needs
 
January/February 2012                                                                        Issue 23

    Image of Hurricane icon    Image of Flood icon    Image of Earthquake icon    Image of Tsunami icon
 
Images used here are from the Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards by Dennis J. Hwang and Darren K. Okimoto from the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant College Program.

In this issue
Mahalo and Aloha, Ed!
Na Lima Kako'o Conference
Makani Pahili 2012
Big Island Civil Defense Administrator Appointed
2012 State of FEMA

Greetings!

DCAB's new year began with involvement in several different emergency preparedness activities. This newsletter will summarize a few of the activities in which DCAB has participated in to coordinate and plan with other agencies for emergency preparedness to include individuals with access and functional needs at a statewide level.

 

Hopefully, 2012 finds new opportunities for each of you. DCAB invites you to consider volunteering for one of many activities occurring in your local community related to emergency preparedness. Emergency management planning efforts involve activities such as exercises that allow each of us to practice and improve our preparedness skills. This is similar to the fire drills we had in elementary school to learn how to evacuate a building safely. Practice is important to be ready and aware of what to do during an emergency. It allows us to hone our skills so we are ready when an actual event occurs. Contact your local Civil Defense Agency or call the local chapter of the American Red Cross to learn about how you can be involved in your community!  


The Emergency Preparedness E-News is written to keep the community aware of issues and events related to emergency preparedness and individuals with disabilities and special health needs. Please feel free to send DCAB information that you would like to have included in a future issue. We look forward to hearing from you.

Aloha,

Debbie Jackson
Planner

Mahalo and Aloha, Ed!

Photo of Debbie Jackson, Ed Teixeira and Francine Wai
Aloha Luncheon: Left to right are Debbie Jackson, Ed Teixeira and Francine Wai
Ed Teixeira, former Vice Director of State Civil Defense, was instrumental in getting people with access and functional needs (PAFN) a "seat at the table" in emergency management in Hawaii. Under his leadership, State Civil Defense along with the State Department of Health and the Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB) convened an interagency working group that included PAFN, to begin planning in the Fall of 2005. This resulted in the development of the 2006 Interagency Action Plan for the Emergency Preparedness of People with Disabilities and Special Health Needs. The Plan was updated three (3) times with the most current version being the 2009 Plan. With the recent changes from FEMA, the Plan will be revised again in 2012.

Mr. Teixeira stepped down from his position on October 4, 2011 after twelve (12) years of service at State Civil Defense. There was no opportunity to acknowledge all of his hard work when he left, but a group who knew and worked with him did so on February 21, 2012. His devotion to the people of Hawaii and his work will be missed. Thank you, Ed for your tireless efforts on our behalf to keep the people of Hawaii safe during emergencies while you were on the job. We will always remember you as the face and voice heard to assure the public that State Civil Defense was hard at work.

May the road rise up to meet you and the wind always be at your back! Mahalo and aloha, Ed! 

Na Lima Kako'o Conference

Photo of Goodwill Volunteers
Goodwill Volunteers at Na Lima Kako'o Exercise
PAFN had the opportunity to participate on two (2) of the three (3) days of the Na Lima Kako'o Conference on January 25-27, 2012. The State Department of Health's annual conference relating to Alternate Care Sites (ACS)/medical shelters. The conference featured a panel of individuals who are involved with planning and educating PAFN about emergency preparedness on Thursday, January 26, 2012. Panelists included Landa Phelan and Miss Pearline (her guide dog), Dawn Skaggs, Maria Lutz, and Debbie Jackson. Panelists shared their perspectives about working with people with disabilities from an individual and agency perspective. Maria Lutz, the American Red Cross (ARC) representative, tied the discussion together by summarizing how ARC has updated its efforts by conducting training to include information about PAFN.

On Friday, January 27, 2012, twenty (20) people with disabilities attended and participated in an exercise at the Convention Center in Honolulu. The exercise was focused on registering people after a flooding emergency had forced people to enter an evacuation shelter. There were one hundred fifty (150) volunteer actors along with the volunteer actors with disabilities who went through the registration and triage process to allow evacuation shelter staff to practice assigning individuals to a general mass care shelter or refer the individual to an ACS or medical shelter based on his or her needs.

The volunteer actors and staff were divided into two groups to go through the shelter registration and triage process. While one group went through the exercise, the other half participated in a workshop about how to work with people with disabilities in an emergency. The workshop was conducted by DCAB staff person, Debbie Jackson. A videotape about sheltering-in-place was used in the workshop, along with incorporating people with disabilities from the audience. People with disabilities from the audience shared their experience and spoke about how they preferred to be aproached and assisted by someone.

The workshop was well received, based on general feedback from the audience. Hopefully, this will encourage the use of people with disabilities as volunteer actors in other shelter exercises. Practicing what will happen during an evacuation to a shelter is a good learning opportunity for both people with disabilities (to become familiar with what may happen at a shelter) and for shelter volunteers (to become familiar in working with people with disabilities). The overall objective of the exercise was met, because more people in the community have become aware of what to do during an emergency.

Mahalo nui loa to all of the volunteer actors with disabilities who participated in the exercise! You did an excellent job! 

Makani Pahili 2012

Graphic of SCD Seal Makani Pahili is the annual hurricane exercise for the community to prepare us for hurricane season in June. State Civil Defense sponsors the event with many community agencies participating. This year, Makani Pahili is scheduled for May 29 through June 8, 2012. DCAB is participating in planning and coordinating how individuals with disabilities can be involved with events planned for Makani Pahili.

On Oahu, there will be two (2) exercises that need volunteer actors with disabilities. The two (2) sites for the exercises are Nanakuli High School and tentatively Kalaheo High School. There are plans for a third site to be added, but arrangements have not been confirmed at the time of this writing. The exercises are planned to begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m. If you would like to volunteer for either of these exercises, please contact Debbie Jackson at DCAB. Names of volunteers will be collected and given to the appropriate person responsible for the exercise.

For people who live on the neighbor islands, to find out what is being planned in your community, you should contact your county Civil Defense Agency. A person there should be able to explain whether or not volunteer actors are needed for any scheduled exercises. For more information, feel free to contact Debbie Jackson at DCAB at (808) 586-8121. Toll free numbers are included at the end of the E-news for anyone calling from a neighbor island to Oahu.

Thank you for being willing to volunteer and to learn how to prepare for a disaster. 

Big Island Civil Defense Administrator Appointed

County of Hawaii Seal On February 17, 2012, the Hawaii Tribune Herald published an article by Nancy Cook Lauer that reported Hawaii Army National Guard Col. Benedict L. Fuata was named as the new Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator by Mayor Billy Kenoi.   

Mr. Quince Mento retired from the position on December 1, 2011 and Col. Fuata will take over the position as of March 1, 2012. Mahalo and aloha to Mr. Mento for the positive work accomplished on behalf of individuals with disabilities during his term in office.

According to Ms. Lauer's article, Col. Fuata has been the Commander of the Army Aviation Support Facility in Hilo since 1993. He is a logical choice for the position since he worked closely with Civil Defense and served as the director of Logistics for the Hawaii Army National Guard during Inactive Duty Training.

In the article, Mayor Kenoi indicated that Col. Fuata has worked directly with the county through two (2) tsunamis and a hurricane in the past three (3) years. This indicates that keeping the Big Island and its residents safe is the responsibility of the county Civil Defense Agency and that the county is fortunate that Col. Fuata is willing to accept the responsibility for leading the agency.

The article goes on to describe that the county "Civil Defense Agency directs and coordinates the county's emergency preparedness and response programs to ensure prompt and effective action when natural disasters and other emergencies occur anywhere on the island."

Col. Fuata's holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Santa Clara and a master's degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix.

The disability community on the Big Island looks forward to working with him as the new county Civil Defense Administrator.

2012 State of FEMA

Image of FEMA logo Craig Fugate, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator and Deputy Administrator Richard Serino issued a joint announcement on February 14, 2012 about a recent FEMA publication.

It announced the availability of the 2012 State of FEMA report. The report captured FEMA highlights and accomplishments for the year and also laid out FEMA's vision for the future. The report also shows how utilizing the "whole community" has allowed FEMA to collaborate with partners to better prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

The report tells a portion of FEMA's story and shows how much more work there is to accomplish. The announcement ended with the support of Congress and acknowledgement of the continued dedication of the emergency management community. FEMA is confident that emergency management will continue to grow, improve and serve the Nation.

To view the the report, click on the following link:


Contact Information
 Image of State Seal of Hawaii              
 Disability and Communication Access Board
 919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 101
 Honolulu, HI 96814
 Phone:  (808) 586-8121 (V/TTY)
 Fax:      (808) 586-8129
 E-mail:   DCAB General Delivery
 Web site: DCAB Home Page

County of Hawaii:  974-4000, ext. 6-8121#
Couny of Kauai:     274-3141, ext. 6-8121#
County of Maui:     984-2400, ext. 6-8121#
Molokai & Lanai:    1-800-468-4644 , ext. 6-8121#

Quick Links...


Join Our Mailing List