Mayor urges residents to prepare for hurricane season

With the start of a six-month-long hurricane season that began Friday, Mayor Kirk Caldwell, along with city officials, highlighted necessary preparations for a near or above-normal hurricane season.

“We all need to prepare no matter what,” Caldwell said. “All you need to have happen is one hurricane to hit this island like Iniki hit Kauai, and we are in huge trouble.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicted three to six tropical cyclones for the 2018 season. A possible shift to weak El Nino conditions during the back end of the season could favor more storms traveling westward, as well as activity near the higher end of the predicted range, NOAA said.

As ocean temperatures in the main hurricane formation regions remain above average, Caldwell said residents must prepare for more severe weather events caused by climate change.

“There’s no easy way here. We need to change how we’ve been living for the past century to a new century where we have global warming affecting our climate,” he said.

Director of Emergency Management Melvin Kaku emphasized that disaster preparation does not end after gathering 14 days’ worth of supplies with essentials such as prescription medicine. He recommends that residents start preparing now by clearing out rain gutters and belongings from the outside of their homes, creating an evacuation and communication plan, and remaining informed of potential threats.

The large surf and ocean changes that accompany cyclones pose a health issue to both the general public and first responders, said Honolulu Emergency Serv­ices Director Jim Howe. As many visitors are not used to Hawaii’s ocean conditions, Howe said residents play a role in informing them to stay away from the water’s edge to prevent life-threatening situations.

“We appreciate the community helping us with our many millions of visitors that are on the islands, to help them be as prepared as we are and to be beneficiaries of what we know about our oceans and beaches during these circumstances,” he said.

Caldwell said the city is starting preparations by clearing streams and continuing to train first responders for natural disasters. Long-term work includes revising building codes so that structures are off the ground, such as being built on stilts.

After flooding in April damaged parts of East Oahu and severely damaged parts of Kauai, Caldwell said that having both hurricane and flood insurance is important for homeowners.

“We need to act differently, or we’re going to get the same result and have the damage repeated again,” he said.