hunterbishop.com

I’'ve often wondered why the Kim administration is so reluctant to discuss its contingency plans for various natural disaster emergencies that might affect residents of Hawaii Island. Following this week’s astonishing press conference on the rim of Halemaumau Crater, I’ve concluded that the plans just don’t exist.

Remember back in September when Puna folks were clamoring for information about plans in the event that lava cut off schools, businesses and residents from vital public services? Remember the reluctant official mutterings about meetings with community groups that were delayed until the immediate lava threat subsided? Then they never occurred.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald's story on Wednesday's Halemaumau show was remarkable for a couple of reasons. There was William Ing’s photo of the Health Department spokesman gesturing fecklessly as the menacing plume rises in the background, and there was the stark realization that anticipatory disaster emergency planning is all but non-existent.

I suppose that’s why the Kim administration is reluctant to talk about its disaster emergency plans. There are no disaster emergency plans. It’s all done on the fly.

Maybe it’s too embarrassing to reveal this fact to a public that has supreme confidence in the calm mystique Mayor Kim has built into Civil Defense operations. Hence, the absence of public meetings with community groups to discuss various contingency plans in the event of an actual disaster. But embarrassing or not, it certainly would behoove the agency to connect with leaders in the communities in order to anticipate better some of the problems that may arise out of potentially dangerous situations.

For example, if we really had disaster planning that involved the community, don’t you think someone might have pointed out that there could be a problem with ash in catchment tanks? Maybe CD could have tipped off the state Department of Health guy who embarrassed himself and his department by admitting the thought had not occurred to him.

Someone also may have had the foresight some time ago to think sulfur dioxide detectors could be a good thing to have at fire stations in communities surrounding an active volcano. But no, the County waits until ash and acid rain are already falling on people’s homes before scrambling to order the devices.

Is there any evidence of Civil Defense preparedness in this statement?

Kim said the Civil Defense Agency is planning for a number of scenarios, including the possibility of an evacuation of certain areas if that were necessary.

Asked how residents would be informed of an evacuation, Kim said officials would go "door to door, if necessary."

Holy Katrina! Now they are planning?

Evacuation notification plans could have been written already, the protocols shared with communities and perhaps even tested. But no, somebody will be going "door-to-door, if necessary." Why are we still figuring this out?

And about that evacuation. Would it be mandatory? Where would people go? How would they get there? How long would they stay? At what cost? Who pays? What about the infirm? People's pets? Livestock?

What about the security of people’s homes from the threat of looting in an evacuated area? Are there plans to call in the National Guard? Is the guard in fact available? Or is it too busy with Iraq?

Maybe you think I’m being alarmist but shouldn’t someone start thinking aloud about the answers to these questions before they are raised in the heat of a dire emergency? Or will everybody be on their own?

It’s time Mayor Kim leveled with residents about disaster emergency plans, whether we have them or not. And it’s time to stop the paternalistic patter and to partner with communities in developing these plans and making them public before they are needed in order to avoid unnecessary panic, anxiety and confusion in the event of a real disaster.

Otherwise we could wind up with our own mini-New Orleans on the Island of Hawaii. Have we not learned that lesson?