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State of Hawaii
July/Aug 2016
  Issue 50
Picture of Dog to remind you to pack a Pet Go Kit
Emergency Preparedness E-News

for People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs
Recent Activities
 

National Pet Preparedness Month was in June. It's a time to prepare your pet for evacuation, too.  If you need to evacuate to a shelter due to a disaster, remember that a pet will not be allowed inside. However, if you have a service animal, because of a disability it will be allowed to stay in the shelter with you.

Some things to remember when planning for your service animal or pet include the following:
  • Assemble a pet/service animal supply kit;
  • Talk to your service animal/pet's veterinarian about emergency planning;
  • Include your friends, neighbors, or relatives to ensure someone is available to take care of or evacuate your pet or service animal if you are unable to do so;
  • Look for a boarding facility such as a kennel or veterinarian hospital that is near an evacuation shelter or your family's meeting place; and
  • Watch TV or listen to the radio or watch for text messages to learn which shelters will be opened. Not all local shelters will have a pet shelter. And if they have been designated as a pet shelter, pets will be housed in a separate area from owners. Remember to bring a pet carrier, food and water supplies and toys for your pet. Although you are in a shelter, you are still responsible for the care and feeding of your service animal or pet. 
During this past weekend for Tropical Storm (TS) Darby, 7 shelters opened on Oahu. If any were "pet-friendly," that meant you could bring your pet with you to the shelter, but it is housed in a crate or carrier in a room away from you. You are responsible for care and feeding of your pet. Going to a pet shelter means everyone in your household has a safe place to stay during the storm.
Mayor Caldwell's Press Conference with ASL Interpreter

DCAB also acknowledges the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Emergency Management (DEM) for working with the Mayor's Office to provide ASL interpreters (picture to the right) for press conferences about TS Darby this weekend. It was a positive effort to ensure the whole community was aware of what was happening with TS Darby!

Debbie Jackson
Planner

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R2RReady2React Emergency Preparedness Fair
Ready2React Logo
For City and County of Honolulu residents who live in Pearl City and Aiea, the Ready2React Emergency Preparedness Fair is scheduled for Saturday, July 30, 2016. It will be at Pearlridge Shopping Center, Uptown (on the ground level near the escalators). The fair begins at 10:00 a.m. and continues until 2:00 p.m.
 
The Disability and Communication Access Board will have an exhibit table there with information for people with disabilities and how they can prepare a plan and an emergency kit for themselves and their service animals. We share a booth with Feeling Safe, Being Safe which is a training program for people with disabilities to learn how to prepare for emergencies.

There will also be displays of emergency preparedness vehicles used by the City and County of Honolulu, American Red Cross, Honolulu Fire Department, Hawaii National  Guard, Honolulu Police Department and the Blood Bank of Honolulu's Blood Mobile in the Toys "R" Us parking lot. Stop by and visit our booths to learn about preparing people with disabilities for emergencies!
 FEMAFEMA Releases Findings on Individual and Community Preparedness
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Individual and Community Preparedness Division (ICPD) released findings from its 2015 National Household Survey of 5,000 Americans in June. The survey was designed to measure household and individual preparedness and awareness.

Among the most significant findings, the survey found a positive relationship between awareness of preparedness information and the action of taking steps to prepare for a disaster.  

The survey also noted a relationship between experience and action, finding that individuals living in areas with a history of specific hazard and who have experienced the impact of that hazard are significantly more likely to report that they have taken basic steps to prepare themselves and their household.

When it comes to awareness of preparedness information, 66 percent of Americans living in areas with a history of hurricanes reported that they had read, seen, or heard information on how to better prepare for a hurricane within the past 6 months, the survey said. Individuals living with a history of tornadoes were the most aware of the pertinent preparedness information for their relevant hazard with 53 percent of respondents in those areas saying they had read, seen, or heard information on how to prepare for a tornado in the last 6 months.

The survey included a series of samples in U.S. counties where specific hazard, such as:  earthquakes, extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and winter storms, present a risk to those populations. ICPD will be going back into the field later this summer to administer the 2016 National Household Survey. 

Information from FEMA's "Individual and Community Preparedness e-Brief," July 7, 2016.
MakaniMakani Pahili Statewide Hurricane Preparaedness Exercise
radio antenna above tree topEach year Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) sponsors the statewide hurricane preparedness exercise called Makani Pahili (Hawaiian for "strong winds") in collaboration with federal, state, county and private agencies. This high-profile exercise focuses on improving Hawaii's overall preparedness for the Central Pacific hurricane season, that runs from June 1 through November 30, and includes simulating a major hurricane that causes significant damage and loss of life.

DisasterAWARE, the decision support system, is used through all phases of the exercise providing government agencies and military organizations with access to simulated damage assessment maps, detailed weather graphics,and hurricane scenario model outputs. The annual Makani Pahili exercise provides an opportunity to evaluate warning, evacuation, and sheltering capabilities, validate response and recovery plans, and raise public awareness of hurricane-related risks.

Makani Pahili activities and exercises are underway as this E-News is being published. This year's HI-EMA Makani Pahili Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) exercise was held on Saturday, July 16, 2016 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This exercise simulated a post-impact tropical storm scenario employing the Simplex High Frequency and the State and County VHF/UHF Linked Repeater Network amateur radio bands. This is a voluntary exercise that utilized community amateur radio operators so they can practice their skills to prepare for the occurrence of a "real" disaster. A number of people with disabilities are involved with amateur radio.

The goal of the exercise is to organize state- and county-wide radio nets by sending and receiving message traffic via the net using digital and phone modes and then forwarding the information to the WebEOC internet site. Some of the planned activities were to demonstrate and exercise the ability to create and transmit American Red Cross (ARC) Shelter Status Reports; create a map of reporting station locations; and determine where possible stations should be directed to permit relay from remote Neighbor Island low-power stations.

Information from: http:www.pdc.org/about/projects/makani-pahili/ and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's Makani Pahili RACES COMMEX 2016 Plan Revised 07/06/2016.
HHARPHawaii Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program  (HHARP)

The purpose of the Hawaii Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program  (HHARP) is to help communities prepare to be self-reliant during and after HHARP Logonatural hazards events, improve their ability to take care of their own needs, and reduce the negative impacts of disasters.  HHARP enhances community resilience through education and outreach to build awareness and understanding of hazard mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. State and county emergency management agencies collaborate to administer HHARP in support of community leaders willing to implement the program.


Active HHARP Communities:

Kauai
  • Hanapepe-Eleele: Meets the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m., Hanapepe Armory of the Hawaii Army National Guard at 1-3460 Kaumualii Highway. E-mail Jean Souza at Hanapepe.Eleele.Kauai@gmail.com.
  • Get Ready Halelea's website is currently under construction. The group's organizational meeting was on Saturday, June 4, 2016 to prepare the Hanalei to Haena Disaster Resilience Plan. For information call (808) 826-1985.
Excerpt from:  Thegardenisland.com, June 4, 2016

Oahu
  • Ewa Beach: Meets the third Thursday of each month from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Ewa Beach Public Library. Contact  Rodney Boucher, GetReadyEwaBeach@gmail.com or visit their website at www.getreadyewabeach.com.
  • Hawaii Kai: Meets the first Wednesday of each month from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at Koko Head District Park, Multipurpose Room C. Contact Matt Glieb for more information at HawaiiKaiStrong@yahoo.com.
  • Kailua: Meets the fourth Wednesday of each month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Kailua District Park. For more information contact Claudine Tomasa at ctomasa@gmail.com.
  • Kaneohe/Kahaluu: Meets the fourth Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS at Halaulani St. Contact Bill Sager at bsager42@gmail.com for details.
  • Waianae: Meets the third Wednesday of each month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Waianae District Park. Contact Rock Arakaki at arockda@aol.com.
  • Waimanalo: Meets the second Wednesday of each month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Regional Training Institute (RTI ) at Bellows Air Force Station. Contact Frencha Kalilimoku at frencha2009@yahoo.com.
  • Manoa's group is currently being developed.
If you're interested in bringing HHARP to your own community, please call: (808) 733-4300 or inquire directly with the following HI-EMA staff:

Kevin Richards, Earthquake and Tsunami Planner at

Arlina Agbayani, Assistant Public Relations Officer at aagbayani@scd.hawaii.gov

Information from:  http://www.scd.hawaii.gov/hharp.htm
KauaiHHARPHHARP Launched in Hanapepe-Eleele, Kauai
With its launch on May 10, the Hanapepe-Eleele community, located on the Kauai Map southwest coast of Kauai, became the first on the island to undertake HHARP. The objective of HHARP is to help communities prepare to be more self-reliant during and after natural hazard events, improve their ability to take care of their own needs, and reduce the negative impacts of disasters. The program for Hanapepe-Eleele is supported by HI-EMA of the state Department of Defense (DOD) and Hawaii Army National Guard, and the Kauai Civil Defense Agency. Brigadier General Bruce Oliveira (Retired) of DOD is the program lead/coordinator. Jean Souza of Hanapepe serves as the community coordinator.
 
A series of monthly workshops has been scheduled for 2016-2017. The Kauai public is invited to participate in the 2016 workshops on understanding various hazards to be conducted by experts. In a later phase, residents and businesses in Hanapepe and Eleele will address the communities' specific needs and interests, and develop pre- and post-disaster plans.
 
All workshops will be held on the second Tuesday of the month, 6:00 p.m. at the Hanapepe Armory of the Hawaii Army National Guard located at 1-3460 Kaumualii Highway.
 
"We all will be working toward improved safety and preparation, and working with our neighbors to plan, prepare, respond, and recover from natural disasters. It is not a question of "if" a disaster will happen, but "when", so we community people really appreciate these emergency and disaster professionals who have offered to help us help ourselves," said Wayne Souza of the Hanapepe-Eleele Community Association.
 
For more information about HHARP in Hanapepe-Eleele, e-mail Hanapepe.Eleele.Kauai@gmail.com.
WaimanaloWaimanalo HHARP Seeks New Community Coordinator
outrigger on beach in Waimanalo
In June 2015 Hoomakaukau O Waimanalo - "Get Ready Waimanalo" achieved three recognition milestones:  Storm Ready Community,  Tsunami Ready Community, and the First HHARP Resilient Community. Frencha Kalilimoku, facilitator for the Waimanalo HHARP has been one of the primary leaders who organized meetings, coordinated community events to inform and educate not only the Waimanalo community but also encouraged other community leaders to develop their own awareness and resiliency plans.

Unfortunately, Frencha announced that she will no longer be able to continue as facilitator and is seeking a community volunteer to carry on with the efforts of Waimanalo HHARP.  The next meeting has been scheduled for August 8, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. in the Dining Facility at the Hawaii Army National Guard RTI located at Bellows Air Force Station in Waimanalo.
 
However, to continue HHARP Waimanalo a new facilitator is required. Please contact Frencha Kalilimoku at (808) 259-7222 (voice mail only) or frencha2009@yahoo.com. Thank you and aloha, Frencha for all the work you and your ohana put into creating, sustaining and making Waimanalo a HHARP Resilient Community. We will miss you!!!  
Contact Information:                                                                      
 
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Disability and Communication Access Board                                    
       
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