Organize for resilience

The Kaneohe Neighborhood Board held an Emergency Management Table Top Workshop on Sept 5, 2013 at Hoomalahea Park. The workshop was facilitated by Mike Catkin of NOAA, National Weather Service. This workshop is part of our effort to become a tsunami/storm ready certified community.

The meeting was attended by:
Bill Sager, Chair, Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Emergency Preparedness PIG, 808-375-1114, bsager42@gmail.com
Chad Kaukani, Member, Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Emergency Preparedness PIG
Paul Tomita, Member, Kaneohe Neighborhood Board Emergency Preparedness PIG
Clement Jung, ARES,RACES
Crystal Van Beelen, DEM
Jessie Kozel, American Red Cross
Claudine Tomasa, Kailua Neighborhood Board, Disaster Preparedness Committee
Richard Kimitsuka, ARES,RACES
Mike Cantin, National Weather Service
John Cheong, HPD
Gerald Kaneshiro, HFD
Jason Samala, HFD
Jason Kibayashi, DOE

Each Agency discussed their duties during and in the aftermath of a disaster.
Police mission is traffic control and evacuation alerts via their vehicle equipped loud speaks.
Fire Department will assist with loud speaker evacuation alerts, but are on duty to respond to any emergency.
30 minutes before scheduled arrival of a tsunami police and fire will evacuate to safe locations.
They will also return to station when winds reach 40 mph intensity. Personnel safety is their first priority and police and fire services will not be available during a storm or in an inundation area.

Everyone emphasized the importance of individual responsibility. Have a go kit ready to take to a shelter. Click here for more go kit information. ≈ Your Go-Kit should fit in carry on luggage or a 5 gallon bucket. At the shelter, you will have 10 square feet per person so donʻt plan on taking a lot of supplies. The High Schools are our primary hub shelters. HAM radios will be set up at the hub shelters to provide emergency communications. Communications between neighborhoods and the Hub Shelters is a problem. If roads are blocked the only way to communicate with the HAM stations is by courier. Family Service Radios(Walkie Talkies) will help facilitate communications within families and may be able to relay to the HAM stations.

BE PREPARED TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND YOU FAMILY FOR AT LEAST 5 DAYS AND PREFERABLY A MONTH.

Neighborhoods will be responsible for self-help. Rescue from damaged buildings and clearing roads will be a neighborhood responsibility. CERT trained neighborhood teams are needed as are Red Cross Trained Shelter Managers. Satellite shelters will be opened as necessary and within the Red Cross capability to provide trained shelter managers. DEM emphasized that when power poles are down across roads leave them alone. Cutting them to clear roads can delay power restoration by weeks.

All our schools have NOAA Weather Radios and monitor for emergency alerts. The have protocol in place to send their students home well before any weather emergency might occur. If tropical storm winds are imminent and students are still in school the students will be sheltered in place. Parents should not try to pick up their children during a storm.

Listen to the TV and radio for instructions as to what shelters are open and any other instructions. Donʻt wait till the last minute to get supplies or evacuate. Fill your carʻs gas tank when it reaches half full and have supplies of food, water and medicine for at least a week. Store these supplies in your car when a storm approaches.

An inventory of community resources is needed. We need to know who has heavy equipment, and who is available to run the equipment. What restaurants use propane for cooking and how food can be distributed from restaurants to those in need. We need to know who has special skills and special equipment such as chain saws and vehicles with winches. We need to know who in our communities need special help because of medical or mobility challenges. Know if you have a HAM operator in you neighborhood.

Resources inventories will be managed differently depending on how those resources will be used. Resources that will be used within neighborhoods should be compiled and managed by a few community leaders. Resources which will be needed by the entire Kaneohe Community will be compiled by the KNB Emergency Preparedness Committee Chair and will be shared with the Police and Fired Departments and the Red Cross as appropriate.


Nextdoor.com is an internet program designed to help organize neighborhoods. CHECK IT OUT AND GET ORGANIZED! If you need help contact Bill Sager.