Parents and keiki [children] came with backpacks, duffel bags, roll-on luggage, even wagons — all containing 72-hour emergency kit supplies — as several hundred Ko‘olauloa residents participated in a mock hurricane preparedness drill on September 26 in BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center.

In the event of a real emergency, each person in a shelter is responsible for their own food, clothing and personal necessities for the first three days in an emergency situation, hence the 72-hour kits.

The American Red Cross has designated the CAC as a hurricane evacuation shelter for much of Ko‘olauloa, and has trained volunteer members of the Lä‘ie Emergency Council (LEC) how to manage it in the event of such a natural disaster.

The LEC is comprised of representatives from BYU-Hawai‘i, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Hawai‘i Reserves, Inc. and volunteers. Each year one of the three Latter-day Saint entities alternates as LEC chair. “This year Les Steward, assistant to the president of the PCC, oversees the LEC activities,” said John Elkington [pictured at right with Eugenia Lawrence], BYUH Director of Housing and a Lä‘ie resident, who is the Red Cross-trained shelter coordinator.

He explained the three entities have pooled their resources to help the community in the event of a real disaster. “For example, BYU-Hawai‘i and PCC both own large generators. We also recognize that if a hurricane hits O‘ahu, because of other heavily populated areas the Red Cross might initially be stretched thin,” Elkington said. “So, we’ve got five shelters within the community, and I coordinate with the respective shelter managers.” The five shelters are:

• “The CAC, which is the largest and is open to the community from Ka‘a‘awa to Sunset Beach.”
• “The PCC IMAX Theater, which is available to the tourists who happen to be there if there’s an emergency.”
• “The BYUH ‘Old Gym,’ which is designated as an overflow if we have more than 5,000 people in the CAC.”
• “The mauka [inland] LDS chapel in Hau‘ula.”
• Elkington added that all BYUH students are to evacuate to the campus stake center; “and there’s also the Kahuku High Gym, which is under the jurisdiction of the Red Cross.”

“With this drill, we want people to recognize there are certain areas they’re supposed to go to in the case of a hurricane. For example, this is not a designated shelter for a tsunami [tidal wave].” Those areas include:

• LDS Temple Hill in Lä‘ie
• Cackle Fresh egg farm (mauka of Lä‘ie)
• Gunstock Ranch in Mälaekahana
• The second floor of BYUH dormitories and buildings for students living on campus.

The feedback we’ve got from the Red Cross is that, probably more than any other organization, we’re able to put in place and mandate their policies and procedures because of how we’re structured in the LDS Church. Recognizing they’re going to be taking care of the larger population centers, they’ve basically given us the go-ahead to formulate our own crews under their direction. We have designated people who are trained to do that.”
“I want to emphasize, however, this shelter is not just for LDS Church members,” Elkington continued.

“It’s very easy to sit here and say, we’ve been through the drills and the training; but when an actual hurricane hits, I’m sure the excitement level will intensify the need to serve. So, I don’t think we’re ever satisfied with our drills,” he said.

“What we are satisfied with is, we know where to go, and we have people in place to serve the needs of the community. It’s important to realize that we’re all volunteers, and we cannot force people to come to the shelters. So, it remains to be seen what happens when a real hurricane hits the North Shore.”

Eugenia Lawrence, Assistant Director of Human Resources at BYUH and a resident of Lä-‘ie, is the Red Cross-trained CAC shelter manager who oversees a staff of 20–30 volunteers. She explained that in the event of an emergency, “I would be contacted by the American Red Cross or Civil Defense that a shelter needs to be opened.”

“Then I would activate my group — which includes logistics, special services, medical help, mental health, and food services — to let them know we need to open the shelter.”

Lawrence advised that, in the event of a declared emergency, “first, take care of your families. Make sure that they have their 72-hour kits. Listen to the news, TV or radio, to get the facts. Prepare your homes and come to the shelter.”

“The 72-hour kit should have food for three days, things to occupy younger children, extra formula and diapers for babies; for the elderly, make sure you have enough medication. People will feed themselves, but the CAC is equipped with showers for both men and women, which makes this an ideal situation.”

She also explained that during a hurricane evacuation, “the CAC is just to house you for the 8–12 hours the storm is blowing through. After that, people will normally go back to their homes. If they’re not in livable condition, then that’s when we turn into the shelter phase. But I don’t anticipate that everyone who comes for an evacuation phase will come back for the shelter.”

“I just hope people are prepared, and they don’t take these drills we have for granted,” Lawrence added.

Steve Hoag, Director of Human Resources and Government Relations, and Assistant to the President of HRI, noted that the Lä‘ie land management company works closely with the other LEC members. More specifically, he said HRI is prepared to make “mauka lands available for tsunami evacuation,” and make sure streams are cleared “to try to minimize flooding in the case of a hurricane.”

“In the first several years of emergency planning in Lä‘ie, the focus was on hurricanes and hurricane response,” he recalled. “Lately, we’ve been focusing on tsunami and how to prepare for that.” He added that tsunami evacuation is “typically for only two-to-three hours…but we still encourage people to have their 72-hour kit with them, at a minimum, in the case of a tsunami evacuation.”

Hoag, a Lä‘ie resident, also explained the LEC has published an emergency brochure, that will eventually be published at hawaiireserves.com.

Steward, chairman of the LEC emergency operations committee, said his group tracks emergencies and works with other volunteer leaders to make the appropriate response. “We’ve been working on this for over 10 years,” he said, “and we’ve developed some very good plans.”

“I’d like to reiterate something the Civil Defense told us,” Steward continued: “Lä‘ie is probably the only community that has prepared itself in this particular way, and made the concerted effort on an annual basis to help prepare community members for any type of emergency.”

Steward thanked Lawrence and her shelter team for the successful drill. “They’re the ones who really make this happen,” he said. “This is an excellent experience for them and the whole team.”

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