Sixth Supplementary Emergency Proclamation

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WHEREAS, on May 31, 2018, the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i issued a Mandatory Evacuation Order for identified areas within the Leilani Estates subdivision; and WHEREAS, on July 2, 2018, the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i issued a Third Supplementary Emergency Proclamation providing additional real property tax adjustments and relief; and WHEREAS, on August 31, 2018, the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i issued a Fourth Supplementary Emergency Proclamation continuing the state of emergency and issuing a prohibition from people entering or remaining on the lava fields, including a fifty (50) yard safety buffer area; and WHEREAS, on October 30, 2018, the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i issued a Fifth Supplementary Emergency Proclamation continuing the state of emergency, removing the fifty (50) yard safety buffer area, prohibiting the physical modifications to the lava flow fields and suspending the collection of fees for certain private wastewater haulers; and WHEREAS, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Hawai‘i Volcano Observatory (HVO), cannot project WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY an end date to this eruptive event and has noted that previous eruptive events in the area have continued eruptive activity after lengthy periods of lull; and WHEREAS, the USGS HVO has identified many hazards when traversing over lava flow fields, including subsurface residual molten lava and gases that may not be visible; due to the hazards involved, the USGS HVO and Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency have noted that injuries while traversing over lava flow fields are common and deaths have occurred; and WHEREAS, some evacuees of the eruptive event remain in temporary shelters provided by non-profit entities where the operational costs to maintain these shelters are mounting and becoming a hardship; and WHEREAS, Section 127A-13(b) of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes provides that in the event of a local state of emergency, the Mayor may relieve hardship, inequities or obstructions of public health, safety or welfare by suspending county laws in whole or in part. -2-