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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1072.001 2014-2016 William P. Kenoi Major = <t,� ,•I', It Edward T.Teixeira < Emergency Management Randall M. Kurohara .44.'4E44' Director Managing Director Itt ntf xxf u£u a i CIVIL DEFENSE AGENCY N �. 920 Ululan Street • Hilo,Flavum 96/20-3958 3 (808)935-0031 • Fax(808)935-6460 cLi COUNTY COUNCIL co `= HAWAII COUNTY • ; r Testimony before the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit October 19, 2016 Chair Paleka, Vice Chair Ilagan, and Committee Members: I am Ed.Teixeira, Director, Emergency Management, Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, and am testifying on Disaster Preparedness per Communication 1072. A few weeks ago, I received a request from Councilwoman Margaret Wille's office to do a presentation on Disaster Preparedness with respect to Hurricane, Tsunami, Lava Flow, and for Wildland Fire hazards. I agreed to do such a presentation with the support of our Mayor. The presentation date was set for October 4, 2016. However, assistance to residents who were impacted by heavy rains and flooding on September 14 gave reason to request a rescheduling of my presentation to another date. I was subsequently advised that the presentation was to be rescheduled for October 18, 2016. As such, I and another member of the Civil Defense staff assisted residents in the O'okala community in clearing mud and debris from under and around their residential properties. We were assisted that day by a hardworking inmate workline from Kulani Correctional Facility. I had no idea that an underlying purpose of the presentation was to hear from various community members on previous disasters and on other issues gown. No. DI Hawai'i County is an equal opportunity provider and employer Ref. To: r VSMI-C7 Ref. Date OCT 1 9 2016 including matters pertaining to the Puna Geothermal Venture. Nor was provided the courtesy of being told or advised of community concerns over the County's response to previous disasters or emergencies. There is a difference between disaster preparedness and disaster response. In other words, had I not gone to assist residents in O'okala on October 4, I would have appeared before you to speak on disaster preparedness pertinent to four hazards but unaware of specific issues that community members wanted to address with respect to the County's response during previous disasters. For what it is worth, I want to assure the Committee and the public that I was not purposely evading a forum to hear from or to address public concerns. That said I will keep my remarks as brief as I can to allow questions from your Committee and questions or comments from the public. Hurricane. Sea surface temperatures around the State continue to reflect temperatures of 27-28 degrees Centigrade, which are above normal. This condition is consistent with the National Weather Service forecasts for the 2016 Hurricane Season that predicts a transition from an El Nino trend to La Nina, meaning warmer sea surface temperatures that can sustain tropical cyclone systems will continue to prevail during the season. I invite your attention to Tropical Storm Darby, which affected the Big Island during the period July 22-24 making landfall near Pahala as a weak tropical storm with sustained winds of 40 mph and with higher gusts. Fortunately, the effects of Darby were negligible due in large part to the weakening of the storm. County damage assessments, which incorporated lessons-learned from our experience in Tropical Storm Iselle, were conducted on July 24 and showed no significant damage. Power outages from Darby affected about 3,700 customers. Service to the majority of these customers was restored by July 24. This was a positive outcome when compared to the power outages caused by Tropical Storm Iselle in 2014. The large financial investments over the last two years made by Hawaiian Electric Light Company in clearing their transmission corridors from trees and tree branches were a major contributing factor. In August and September, we were faced by two tropical cyclone systems: Hurricane Madeline and Hurricane Lester. At 2 p m on August 30, Hurricane Madeline, at Category 2 hurricane strength with sustained winds of 110 mph and higher gusts, was situated 350 miles east of Hilo. A hurricane warning for the Big Island was in effect and remained so until Madeline encountered vertical wind shear on August 31.. Fortunately, Madeline continued to weaken and its vector narrowly missed the southern portions of the Big Island. This storm was followed by Hurricane Lester, which remained a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 100 mph. Lester's vector kept the system's center about 160 miles east of the Hamakua coast on September 2-3. With the exception of high surf warning conditions to our east-facing shores and resultant heavy rains associated with Hurricane Lester, there were no significant impacts. The impact of Tropical Storm Darby and approach of Hurricanes Madeline and Lester demonstrated experience on many levels and continuous interagency communications and coordination, all of which provide a solid disaster response framework involving County departments, State agencies, federal agencies, and non-government organizations. In preparedness, areas that need continuous emphasis include: • Emergency shelter surveys of Department of Education facilities, County facilities such as the new Ka'u Gym that was designed to withstand Category 3 hurricane winds, and privately-owned facilities. Currently, the State has established a committee to evaluate and develop new emergency shelter criteria. One of our County structural engineers has been designated to be on that committee. • Additional generators to include transfer switches to power facilities especially those serving as emergency shelters. Civil Defense has made the acquisition of generators a priority when expending Homeland Security Grant Program funds. • Disaster assistance planning to support hurricane or strong tropical storm impacts in multiple districts. Tsunami. Planning, public awareness, and public information in preparing for this hazard needs continued emphasis. • Twelve additional outdoor siren warning systems, which along with the Emergency Alert System provide notification to the general public during a Tsunami Warning event, were installed at: Kings Landing; Holoholo Kai Beach Park; Hono Kaope Beach; Halii Kai; Kolea Kai; Waikaumalo Park; Kukuihaele Park; Mahukona Park; Kapaa Beach Park; Hawaiian Paradise Beach; Kapoho Vacation Land; and at Waa Waa. These new siren systems raise the total number of outdoor warning sirens in the County to 83. • Additional work needs to be done in GIS mapping with modeling data for a tsunami occurring in the Aleutians with a magnitude greater than 9.1 Moment. • Tsunami response exercises and drills will be scheduled in 2017 involving County, and other government and non-government organizations. Lava Flow. The lava flow outbreak from Pu'u '0'6 on May 24, 2016, advanced toward POlama Pali and along the western boundary of the former Royal Gardens Subdivision and into the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The lava flow made ocean entry in July near Kamokuna and continues to draw thousands of visitors per month. Although the lava flow does not pose a threat to any community at this time, it presents a reminder to maintain and expand county planning for lava flow hazards. • Civil Defense maintains close contact with the staff at Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory, USGS, and with the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Service for geologic and seismic data, lava flow hazard planning, and for the sharing of public information products. • The Civil Defense Standing Operating Guidelines for Volcano Hazards is one of several guidelines under revision. • A table top exercise involving County, State, and federal agencies to review these Guidelines will be scheduled in 2017. Wildland Fires. The County Fire Department, in my view, has had a long and successful history in fighting wildiand fires. This important task is accomplished with the assistance of other county departments including Civil Defense, volunteer fire fighters, and with State and federal organizations under mutual aid agreements. I will defer to the Chief of the County Fire Department or his representative for comments.