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Hawaii Prepares for Hurricane Season

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100520-08
5/20/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark Logico, Commander Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH) and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) Emergency Management teams hosted the "Operation Prepare-Hurricane Awareness" campaign May 14.

JBPHH-based Sailors, Airmen and civilians provided specific information on hurricanes in Hawaii and information on items for disaster kits at the Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange (NEX) and Hickam Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES).

Operation Prepare, a fleetwide education and awareness campaign on emergency preparedness, provides military family members with valuable tools and resources to help them be more prepared in the event of natural disasters.

"Be informed, have a plan, make a kit," Daniel T. DuBois, the JBPHH emergency manager said. "If you remember nothing else about Operation Prepare, remember three things: be informed, have a plan, make a kit."

CNRH Emergency Manager Lt. Nathan Martinez said that the purpose of this campaign is to prepare everybody for the upcoming hurricane season from June through November.

Hurricanes, tropical cyclones which include intense thunderstorms and strong winds, are a major concern, especially in Hawaii. Hurricane Iniki was the last major hurricane to hit Hawaii on Sept. 11, 1992. Iniki was a Category 4 hurricane that delivered winds 131 to 155 miles per hour, destroyed more than 1,400 houses in Kauai and caused $1.8 billion in damages, equivalent to $2.8 billion in today's economy.

"Hurricane Iniki clobbered Kauai," said DuBois. "It came right below Oahu. If you go on the web and you look at the pictures, the whole West coast of Oahu, power lines were down all over the place. There were major traffic stalls. It took a couple of days to get the water and electricity back up again. It took weeks to get into Kauai. Iniki went right over the top and hit the very heart."

Hawaii is located more than 2,500 miles from mainland United States. DuBois said that because of the distance, Hawaii is in a difficult position to receive immediate relief and rescue from the mainland.

"It takes a container ship five to seven days to get here from California, depending on how fast it's moving," said DuBois. "Our port facility is only 15 feet above water. So if we are hit by a Category 4 hurricane, Sand Island, which is the main port facility, is probably going to be underwater and covered in debris for a while. It's going to take time to get that port back up.

"We have contingency plans to use the port here in Pearl Harbor to offload the cargo, but while Sand Island can turn over 60 containers an hour at Sand Island, we will be really lucky if we are turning over ten containers an hour.

"The other problem is the reef runway."

Honolulu International Airport has four major runways, which it shares with the neighboring JBPHH. The principal runway, also known as the reef runway, was the world's first major runway constructed entirely offshore.

"The reef runway can easily be wiped out by a hurricane," said DuBois. "It's going to take three to five days to clear the runway and get it back in operation."

Martinez said the important thing is to make sure that everybody has all that they need to survive three to five days without food or power.

"A good example is the recently tsunami episode," said Martinez.

On Feb. 27, 2010, an earthquake struck Chile which caused concerns for the state of Hawaii. At 6 a.m., local government sounded the warning sirens and announced their first tsunami evacuation since 1994.

"When they said the tsunami was going to hit, what did everybody do?" asked Martinez. "They started going to the commissary, the minimart. That's the wrong answer. You should be prepared all the time."

"Be informed, have a plan, make a kit," DuBois reiterated.

Operation Prepare provides emergency preparedness tools and resources online at www.cnic.navy.mil. All materials are tailored for the Navy and are consistent with information from several sources such as the American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security.