The end of May and early June were very busy for DCAB and our involvement with Makani Pahili 2014. Makani Pahili is the annual hurricane exercise that we participate in with State Civil Defense, City and County of Honolulu's Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and other partner agencies involved with emergency management.

This year, DCAB's efforts involved inviting a group of five people with disabilities to assist in the assessment of sites selected by the American Red Cross-Hawaii Chapter (ARC) to use as post hurricane impact shelters. The sites are for use after the hurricane hits, and people find they cannot return home due to damage or destruction to their homes and/or property and need a place to stay for several days. These sites offer a place to sleep, eat and bathe while repairs are being made to individual homes. Sites selected were in various parts of Oahu including town, windward and leeward areas. People with mobility impairments were selected to go to sites and assess whether or not the site was usable. Two sites were assessed on the windward side, one on the leeward side and one in town. Information will be forwarded to ARC in a report from DCAB.

A full-scale exercise that people with disabilities participated in was at Bellows. The scenario was a shelter that collapsed caused many injuries. Individuals volunteered to be made up as victims with various injuries and placed in locations for first responders to find, aid, and move to safety. The responders worked with rescue dogs to locate victims and the first responders assisted by moving victims to safety. At the end of the exercise, the first responders were successful in locating and moving all victims to safety. The picture above shows three of the victims who were rescued.

DCAB also participated in a functional exercise with the City and County of Honolulu's DEM's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). DCAB represented the Department of Health. Staff learned a great deal about what is involved behind the scenes in emergency management. Many volunteers along with a great deal of coordination are necessary to ensure that people are safe and have necessary supplies to survive in the community after a hurricane.

A massive amount of effort and resources are required to share responsibilities to effectively serve the community, in order for people to survive, rebuild, work and resume normal everyday lives after a real life disaster. Thank you to all the people involved in each of the exercises to make these activities possible statewide. Practicing what may happen if a hurricane strikes is important to develop how we all react in an actual emergency.

"Hanalei to Haena Disaster Resilience Planning - Are We Prepared" is an event happening on Kauai for June 18 and 21 at the Princeville Public Library. The workshop on June 18th is planned for 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. and on June 21st for an hour from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Makaala Kaamoana, Executive Director of the Hanalei Watershed Hui will explain the planning process for a disaster resilience plan for the North Shore of Kauai. Community resilience is defined as the ability of communities to withstand and recover from disasters by learning from past disasters to strengthen future response and recovery efforts.

The program is intended to learn more about Kauai's North Shore. Updated maps of the North Shore tsunami inundation zones and the district boundaries will be available at the workshop.

For more information, call the Hanalei Watershed Hui at (808) 826-1985. They are located at 5299C Kuhio Highway in Hanalei.

The National Council on Disabilities (NCD) recently issued a study on emergency communications focusing on sensory disabilities (hearing, vision or speech disabilities) and those with developmental disabilities. The name of the study is "Effective Communications for People with Disabilities: Before, During and After Emergencies." In general it found communication needs of these populations are not being fully addressed.

More specifically, the study:

• Identifies barriers, facilitators, and successful practices;
• Examines the current state of affairs concerning the accessibility of emergency-related communications; and
• Provides experiences and perceptions of people with disabilities as they relate to emergency-related communications.

Laws and regulations addressing the rights of people with disabilities and relevant lawsuits are also covered in the study. Improvements in technology and availability of technology makes  information more readily available to the public. The NCD recommends taking advantage of new technology and social media in order to connect people with sensory disabilities.

 

More about the study can be found at www.ncd.gov/publications/2014/05272014/.  

 

From The InfoGram, Volume 14-Issue 25, June 19, 2014, EMR-ISAC (Emergency Management & Response-Information Sharing & Analysis Center) 

The second annual Ready 2 React Fair is scheduled for Saturday, July 26, 2014 between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at Pearl Ridge Center on Oahu.

 

There will be exhibits by emergency management agencies such as FEMA, State Civil Defense, and the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Emergency Management, as well as other government and community agencies (such as the American Red Cross) involved with emergency management in the community.

The Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB) had an exhibit table last year and plans to participate again this year. The picture with this article shows the Chowen brothers and Mayor Kirk Caldwell at the first Ready 2 React Fair at Pearl Ridge in 2013.

Come by and visit our booth and talk to DCAB representatives about how to prepare for an emergency or disaster if are a person with a disability, or have a family member or friend with a disability.

Contact Information:                                                                      

 

919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96814

FAX: (808) 586-8129
E-mail:  DCAB General Delivery

Website: DCAB Home Page

Call toll free from Neighbor Islands:

County of Hawaii:  (808) 974-4000, ext. 6-8121#
County of Kauai:   (808) 274-3141, ext. 6-8121#
County of Maui:    (808) 984-2400, ext. 6-8121#

Molokai & Lanai:   1-800-468-4644, ext. 6-8121#