|
What
are my risks?
The
Big Island's drought has forced people to drive to get
water. Barney Sheffield, a resident of Paradise Park,
uses a hose to fill a commercial fish cooler along the
Keaau-Pahoa Highway while Felix Padamada of Orchidland
waits his turn.
Photo by Rod Thompson, Courtesy of the Star-Bulletin
How
does drought affect me in the short-term?
Droughts
increase the potential for wildland
fires.
Farmers,
cattle ranchers, and people using water catchment systems
are the most severely affected by drought.
How
does drought affect me in the medium-term?
Drought
exacerbates the problem of ensuring a sustainable yield
of potable water. Since Hawaii is an island state, this
is particularly critical. Failure to take appropriate
action could result in Hawaii not having sufficient quantity
and quality of water resources to sustain future population
and industry.
The
State’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR)
has estimated that within 25 years groundwater on Oahu
will have to be supplemented with other sources to keep
up with the demand.
Source:
Drought and Wildland Fire Mitigation Plan, Department
of Defense, Civil Defense Division, Dec 1998.
Hawaii
County’s Most Severe Droughts
Droughts
have impacted almost every island in Hawaii with the most
severe ones in the past 15 years associated with the El
Nino phenomenon. During the El Nino years, droughts have
occurred during the winter-spring period.
|
YEAR
|
REMARKS
|
| 1901
|
Serious
drought, destructive forest fires in North Hawaii
|
| 1905 |
Serious
drought and forest fires in Kona |
| 1908 |
Serious
drought |
|
1912 |
Serious
drought and severe sugarcane crop damage for two years
in Kohala |
| 1953
|
Water
tanks in Kona almost empty; 867 head of cattle died;
rainfall in the islands 40% less than normal |
| 1962 |
State-declared
disaster; crop damage, cattle deaths, and severe fire
hazards; losses totaled $200,000 for Hawaii and Maui.
|
| 1965
|
State
water emergency declared; losses totaled $400,000.
|
| 1971 |
Irrigation
and domestic water users sharply curtailed. |
| 1976-77
|
Water
hauled to families in Kona |
| 1977-78
|
State-declared
disaster |
|
1980-81 |
State
declared disaster; heavy agricultural and cattle losses;
damage totaling at least $1.4 in Hawaii and Maui.
|
| 1983-85 |
State-declared
disaster; crop production reduced by 80% in Waimea/Kamuela;
$96,000 spent on drought relief projects. |
| 1996
|
Declared
drought emergency; heavy damages to agriculture and
cattle industries; losses totaling at least $9.4 million
in Hawaii, Maui, and Molokai. |
|
1998 |
County-declared
emergency for Hawaii due to water shortages. |
| 1999,
2000 |
State
declared drought emergency. |
Source:
State Department of Land and Natural Resources, National
Weather Service, State Civil Defense Division
|
