Episode 22: Hurricane Preparedness

Department of Emergency Management Director Hiro Toiya joins host Brandi Higa on the One O‘ahu Podcast this week to discuss the 2023 Hurricane Season Outlook, staying prepared, and his experience leading the City and County of Honolulu during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen Now:

2023 Hurricane Season Outlook

On May 25, 2023, NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicted a good chance at an above-normal hurricane season in the Central Pacific - with four to seven hurricanes forecast in the 2023 Hurricane Season.

“It really doesn’t matter as much what the season outlook is,” explained Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Director Hiro Toiya. “All it takes is one storm. So we always want to be prepared.”

The Central Pacific Hurricane Season officially began on June 1 and lasts through June 30.

The COVID-19 pandemic

On March 11, 2020, after more than 118,000 cases of the coronavirus popped up in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths were reported, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Hiro Toiya was the Director of DEM at the time, responsible for leading the City’s response to this health emergency.

“We have a small staff, but we were really able to lean on our partners and partner agencies to help do the things that we needed to do,” said Toiya. “The other thing is that we were fortunate to have had just incredible leaders, both a the county and the state levels.”

DEM was able to lead the charge in mass testing efforts, vaccination clinics, and additional resources for the entire island of O‘ahu throughout the pandemic.

Hurricane Refuge Areas

Expanding the number of hurricane shelters on O 'ahu isn't an easy feat. A majority of the shelters used for evacuation during hurricane events are located on State Department of Education school campuses.

“What we did was took a methodology that was developed by FEMA for certain communities and adapted it to the local conditions,” explained Director Toiya. He went on to share a process that helps identify buildings on O'ahu that are most likely to survive a hurricane event, while at the same time acknowledging the level of risk. “We hired some engineers and consultants to create a new method for us. We called it the best available refuge areas.”

To stay informed and tips for making plan ahead of a storm, visit https://www.honolulu.gov/dem.html