A one-hour paid television program, “The New Hurricane Threat for Hawaii,” will air today and Saturday and feature local experts on why Hawaii is increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes and warn of its dire impacts on its people.
The program was created and is hosted by Kioni Dudley, a doctor of philosophy who has written several research papers and articles on “devastating problems that Hawaii will face by 2050.”
John Bravender, warning coordination manager at the National Weather Service in Honolulu and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, explains why tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, are increasingly moving northward toward Hawaii, and the effects of a warming ocean and less wind shear on the Hawaiian Islands.
Dudley also speaks on how the loss of a significant number of tradewind days annually makes the state more prone to hurricanes.
Hiro Toiya, director of the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management, shares how the number of facilities on Oahu that could serve as the island’s best available refuges falls far short of the island’s needs.
He said if 20% of the population seeks shelter, Oahu’s 38 shelters could not provide for the predicted 200,000 evacuees and probably could serve only half that number.
None of the shelters could protect against hurricanes rated Category 3 or higher, Dudley says.
Toiya said the city is trying to prevent overcrowding shelters by helping residents retrofit their wooden homes, so they can shelter at home, as well as finding more suitable facilities. Particularly vulnerable are the older, single-wall construction houses, he said.
David Lopez, a former Hawaii Emergency Management Agency executive officer, says Hurricane Lane, a Category 5 hurricane, was parked off the South Shore of Oahu and eventually passed, but could have devastated Oahu’s vital infrastructure, including ports, airports, oil refineries and electrical plants.
The show airs at 7 p.m. today on K5 and Saturday at 2 p.m. on KIKU, 6 p.m. on KGMB and 8 p.m. on KITV.
The program also can be viewed on YouTube at bit.ly/3TzdSmy and ‘Olelo.