Most in Hawaii not prepared for natural disaster, study finds

Most Hawaii households do not have enough water, food or medicine in the event of a natural disaster, despite what they might think, a recent study by University of Hawaii researchers has found.

The study, conducted by University of Hawaii West Oahu sustainable community food systems professor Albie Miles and sociology professor Konstantinos Zougris, examined the difference between the perceived and actual preparedness of Hawaii households in the case of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

“The most important takeaway is that, statewide, there are very low rates of household emergency preparedness,” Miles said, later adding, “There is a lack of awareness of the preparedness recommendations and standards. Many people were simply unaware that HI-EMA has the recommendation of a 14-day supply of food, water and required medicine.” HI-EMA is Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

The study found that 56% of about 1,000 surveyed households across the state said they believe they have enough supplies for a natural disaster, but only 12% actually have enough water, food and medicine to be considered adequately prepared for emergencies as recommended by HI-EMA, which considers 14 days of emergency supplies the threshold for preparedness.

Additionally, some 24% of the surveyed households said they weren’t supplied because they just weren’t properly informed. One of the study’s recommendations is for the state to improve its efforts to communicate emergency preparedness information through television, the internet, radio and on phones to increase awareness.

HI-EMA’s emergency preparedness recommendations exceed the three days’ worth of food and water recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and even the recommendations of seven days HI-EMA said is being adopted by some states vulnerable to hurricanes.

That’s in large part because the isles are in the middle of the ocean and thousands of miles from the nearest state, so a federal response during a natural disaster is bound to be delayed.

The threat of increasingly common natural disasters and extreme weather patterns fueled by global climate change only makes household emergency preparedness in Hawaii a more urgent issue. Warming oceans, a consequence of climate change, fuel hurricanes, and the planet’s oceans in June set temperature records for a third straight month.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center said there is a 50% chance of “above-normal tropical cyclone activity” this year, predicting four to seven tropical cyclones for the Central Pacific hurricane region. Hawaii’s hurricane season is from June 1 to Nov. 30.

“When you look at the vulnerabilities of the state, because of the time and distance from the west (coast) ports, we’ll be isolated for a little while,” said HI-EMA Administrator James Barros. “Having each family prepared for two weeks, to be able to survive for a little while, will give first responders and government agencies time to open everything back up.”

The UH West Oahu study touches on just a part of the larger conversation of emergency preparedness in Hawaii. Ensuring that homes have enough food and water is a fundamental part of preparedness as a whole, but local and federal government entities also play an important role in responding to disasters, and currently they are largely unprepared to do so.

The state’s poor response to the high unemployment rates and increased food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, viewed as slow-moving and having a more forgiving timeline for a response compared with a natural disaster such as a tsunami or hurricane, exposed gaps in emergency food planning and coordination and information to guide emergency responses.

HI-EMA doesn’t store food, and said financial resources, or a lack thereof, are among the chief reasons why it can’t keep emergency food, although it’s something it is considering.

FEMA does store food for emergency purposes, although Miles said it was only enough to provide one meal for Oahu residents up until a few years ago. It stores more now, but it’s still not enough to keep the state functioning for any length of time.

Additionally, the supply is meant for all Pacific regions, not just Hawaii.

FEMA’s less-than-stellar recent history of disaster response is also fueling a sense of urgency to prepare Hawaii for potential emergencies.

Hawaii Foodservice Alliance LLC, which has become a significant player in pushing for better emergency preparedness, in a white paper noted that FEMA lost track of about $250 million worth of food and supplies that were supposed to go to Puerto Rico after it was devastated in 2017 by the Category 5 Hurricane Irma, followed by the Category 4 Hurricane Maria.

The agency was also blamed for not having food contracts in place to expedite its procurement of food and water, and for a roughly two-month delay in getting that supply to affected people.

HFA ultimately concluded that the federal government and its current emergency response strategies should not be relied on following a natural disaster in Hawaii.

On the state level, one obstacle for HI-EMA is that it’s unable to source or distribute goods such as food because it just doesn’t have enough vehicles, equipment or manpower to do that work.

An obvious solution is leveraging the resources and infrastructure within the private sector, a fact that frustrated stakeholders because private entities had not been involved in the state’s emergency preparations until recently.

“There was no communication … between us, ” said Chad Buck, founder and CEO of HFA, the largest perishable-food distributor in the state. “For them not to include private industry would be like them trying to handle COVID-19 without the hospitals and the doctors.”

HFA, which Buck said has the largest fleet of food delivery trucks in the state, could be tapped to deliver supplies in the event of an emergency.

“Private industry is the only group that has end-to-end resources as far as food and distribution capacity and capabilities,” he said. “The government doesn’t feed people, and private industry feeds people in Hawaii seven days a week, every day of the year.”

Gov. Josh Green and his administration have been lauded for prioritizing emergency preparedness and connecting HI-EMA with private and charitable organizations that already have the ability for large-scale supply and distribution of goods following a natural disaster.

HI-EMA is coordinating with other private entities such as airlines, hardware stores, grocery stores and even local farmers so the state has access to their supplies and tools in an emergency.

But even if HI-EMA and FEMA improve their abilities to respond to natural disasters, households are still viewed as the most important aspect of emergency preparedness, especially in Hawaii, the most isolated archipelago in the world.