I’ve learned a lot in my job at the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, but one area I certainly didn’t anticipate being such an important element was emergency preparedness. Watches and warnings for flash floods, hurricanes and tsunamis are becoming almost annual
I’ve learned a lot in my job at the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, but one area I certainly didn’t anticipate being such an important element was emergency preparedness.
Watches and warnings for flash floods, hurricanes and tsunamis are becoming almost annual events that require action.
In my opinion, the Oct. 27 tsunami warning response went quite well for Kaua‘i and I was proud of our first responders including the Kaua‘i Civil Defense, County of Kaua‘i staff, Kaua‘i Police department, Kaua‘i Fire Department, and especially the Hawai‘i Department of Education for their willingness to open their facilities and act as holding areas during the evacuation of low-lying areas.
The holding areas were extremely helpful during the short notice given on this tsunami warning. I extend deep appreciation to Bill Arakaki and the entire HIDOE team for their support.
After each event, we all debrief and discuss what worked and what can be improved upon for the next situation. I believe it is these debriefing sessions that give us our lessons on how we can improve our response the next time.
I was proud to see Kaua‘i come together in a moment of crisis and very grateful it was a non-event for our beautiful island.
The county has a wonderful program called the Connect CTY which notifies you via phone call, email or text (your choice) when we are entering watches or warnings that require your attention.
Everyone on Kaua‘i, and those that have businesses on Kaua‘i, should register for this program.
One area we have found we can still improve upon is vacation rentals on Kaua‘i that don’t have any information in their unit(s) on how to respond to an evacuation.
Each event, we get calls from visitors who don’t know where to go, don’t know where they are and don’t know what to do in these emergency situations.
I believe that each and every unit on this island should have a compendium on water safety, as well as emergency response so they can inform their guests on what to do, with maps on where to go for an evacuation, and what they need to bring (water, snacks, medication, light sweater or jacket, etc.) when they evacuate.
The Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau and the Office of Economic Development will be working to reach out to the community to be sure the vacation rentals have an emergency contact person, and have put a compendium of some kind in their unit, so our visitors are better informed for the next situation.
• Sue Kanoho is the executive director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau. She can be reached at kauai@hvcb.org or 245-3971.
