Kauai County Civil Defense

• The Kauai Civil Defense Agency has responsibility for administering and operating the various local, state, and Federal civil defense programs for the County. This includes planning, preparing, and coordinating civil defense operations in meeting disaster situations and coordinating post-disaster recovery operations.

Mitigation Activities:

• Reviews and updates all hazards and their threat to the island
• Engages in forums with public (by request)
• Works with the State Civil Defense

Project Impact - Kauai

Project Impact is a national disaster prevention initiative developed in partnership with states and FEMA, encouraging communities to assess their risks from natural hazards and to implement strategies and actions that will limit damage before disasters strike again. Kauai County is the third county in Hawaii invited to participate in the initiative as a Project Impact community.

Mitigation Activitites:

• Hardening Shelters
• Received a "Safe Room" tax credit ordinance
• Designing regional mitigation plans centered around their police stations
• Starting maintenance work on generators used during Hurricane Iniki that will be needed during the next hurricane

Kauai County Housing Department

Mitigation Activitites:

• Adoption of the 1991 Building Code
• Road show (1998) - Set up booth at shopping malls with hazard mitigation items and brochures
• "Future Fair" participant, part of booth showcased Project Ho'omalu
• Build sample homes - self help corporation, habitat for humanity

Project Ho'omalu

Project Ho'omalu is an effort to positively affect residential construction practices, methods, materials, and enforcement on Kauai by ensuring that residential structures are build or retrofitted in the best possible way to resist hazards such as hurricane force wind, fire and flood. Click here for more information.

Mitigation Activities:

1. Create a partnership between the County of Kauai, private industry, and other government entities with emphasis on building better, safer homes.
2. Build a Construction Research/Resource Center in Lihue that will showcase innovative, code-complying methods and materials developed and implement training and education programs.
3. Address specific Kauai issues such as energy efficiency, water conservation, and termite mitigation.

State Civil Defense

Responsibility of all disasters or major crises in the State of Hawaii begins at the county level. As the disaster or crisis develops, the State Civil Defense System provides the operational infrastructure and procedures to apply additional resources to meet the demands of the emergency from all appropriate levels of government.

Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes

The Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV) is located on the Big Island of Hawai'i, and operates out of the University of Hawai'i at Hilo. CSAV is a training and outreach program established by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1989.

Mitigation Activities:

1. Conducts public symposiums at the University of Hawaii at Hilo to discuss impacts of natural hazards, mitigation measures, and policy/warning systems.
2. Plans symposia for teachers for credit.
3. Conducts presentations to 4th and 6th grade classes and community associations on earthquake preparedness.
4. Producing a 20 minute videotape about volcanic and seismic hazards affecting the island of Hawaii, and how homeowners can protect their homes and themselves. The videotape was distributed to community associations, public and private schools libraries, county offices, and video stores.