HIEMA History

State Civil Defense provides the chair, hosts and coordinates the activities of the Pacific Caucus of Emergency Managers. In addition to Hawaii, members include Guam, American Samoa, Republic of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the...

Made up of representatives from the National Weather Service, University of Hawaii structural engineering, and civil defense, the Board held its first meeting in March 1994. The Hurricane Advisory Board has been assembled to take an indepth look at mitigation...

Earthquake Hazard Preparedness Committee formed. State Civil Defense took the initiative to sponsor a special committee for Hawaii earthquake preparedness. Drawn from public, private and academic sectors, the committee brings together geotechnical, earthquake engineering and design experts, as well as...

The State Civil Defense took the lead in the initial development of the Pacific Disaster Center on Maui. The state-of-the-art facility will provide emergency managers in the Pacific region the most advanced information products on pending disasters. - 1995 Annual...

A brand new initiative to support community preparedness through partnerships and resources was developed by SCD and the Pacific Disaster Center in October 2012. The Hawaii Hazard Awareness and Resiliency Program was designed to: increase hazard awareness; enhance understanding of...

Exercise Makani Pahili History Makani Pāhili, meaning “strong winds” in Hawaiian, is the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Defense’s annual hurricane exercise designed to test and strengthen coordinated response capabilities before the start of the hurricane season (June - November)....

HI-EMA responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and became fully operational in April 2020. HI-EMA helped secure and provide personal protective equipment (PPE), created messaging to the public on safety guidelines, and provided assistance to state, federal, and county partners on...

-Photo by Steven Philben (Picture from the 1980 Annual Report) High winds, high surf, and heavy rains battered the islands during the year, prompting Governor George R. Ariyoshi to issue state disaster proclamations on three occasions. The January 1980 storm...

TRAFFIC CONTROL Hawaii National Guard vehicles detour traffic around roads damaged from the November 2000 Hilo flood. Sgt. 1st Class Wayne T. Iha photo RAGING RAPIDS- A Hawaii Army National Guard reconnaissance photo from a UH- 60 Black Hawk helicopter,...

Kamehameha Highway in Kahuku, Oahu, was submerged by heavy rains, Mar. 19-23. (Picture from the 1991 Annual Report) Heavy rains, floods hit Oahu. Twelve days of drenching rains in March were followed by extensive flooding on the north windward shores...

(Picture from the 1976 Annual Report) 80th Governor George R. Ariyoshi and President Gerald R. Ford declared Hawaii County a major disaster area due to an earthquake-tsunami which struck there at 4:48 a.m., Nov. 29, 1975. Within minutes, a tsunami...

(Picture from the 1977 Annual Report) Volcanic Eruption On September 12, 1977, Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii erupted along its east rift zone, culminating in a massive outpouring of lava that traveled within a quarter-of-a-mile of the village of Kalapana. Hawaii...