Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan: 19. Mitigation Strategy

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Chapter 19:Mitigation Strategy that focused on Maui and Hawaii County needs to be examined and follow-up actions implemented such as incorporation of appropriate changes to the building code.112 • Hardening Critical Facilities. A 2009 study conducted a seismic evaluation of essential fire stations and hospitals. The findings of that study need to be fully implemented. Similar evaluations need to be made of the communication systems and fuel tanks. • USGS and HVO has tools such as ShakcCast that can be used for post-earthquake potential damage assessment of discrete building inventories, using HAZUS damage relationships applied to individual buildings that have detailed construction input. 19.2.3 Tsunamis Mitigation actions improve emergency services,protect property, and provide public education: • Warning. Warning in time for evacuation is, of course, the key to the public safety aspect of tsunami mitigation. There are two distinct warning scenarios for this island: for a distant tsunami source such as Alaska where three hours notice for evacuation is possible, and for a local tsunami where a few minutes, if any, warning can be provided. The distant tsunami warning is provided by a well developed and capable Federal system (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, PTWC), based on Oahu and covering the Pacific Ocean area. A local tsunami is an unusual event, but the source is most likely to be near the southern coastal areas of this island. The wave may travel faster than a feasible warning but fortunately the wave height diminishes fairly rapidly with distance. The primary warning is simply feeling the earthquake, coupled with education on the response. The new system which senses water rise at six locations on the Kona-Kau shoreline is now operational. It alerts the warning center which immediately confirms the event by an earthquake signal and advises County Civil Defense (or the police, after working hours). This system supplements the slower and less definite earthquake-only local system that was in service since 1978. • Evacuation. Evacuation zones have been developed and used. These zones are based on a combination of historical data where available and numerical modeling, to produce maximum expectable inundation limits. County Civil Defense then uses these data to provide a map with zones related to physical features where possible and always mauka of or at the inundation limit. These zones apply to distant tsunamis only and are published in the front of the telephone directory. Because of the short warning time for a local tsunami, referring to published zones for this island is not considered feasible and so the public is advised to quickly move inland from the shore. Thirty five sirens around the island are operated by the County to alert the public to a tsunami warning,with specific information broadcast from Civil Defense via the emergency alert system (EAS) radio stations. Short-term sheltering is provided as well as bus evacuation of schools in risk areas. Civil Defense, in conjunction with other County, State, and Federal agencies has developed thorough plans for response to a warning.11' These plans and procedures cover matters from roadblocks to school evacuation and arc reviewed in periodic exercises with responsible agencies but which do not involve the 112 Martin&Chock,Inc.,Earthquake Loss Estimation/Mitigation Project,prepared with funding from the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program,December 2003. 113 County of Hawai'i,Emergency Procedures,Civil Defense Agency,2000(draft revision in process 2003). 19-5 Hawaii County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan