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What
are my risks?
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.
Sumner
Erdman of Ulupalakua Ranch estimated that the cattle operation
stands to lose up to $500,000 in the next three to five
years as a result of the drought conditions on Maui. Click
here to read the full article from the Star Bulletin.
Photo
by Gary T. Kubota,
Courtesy of the Star-Bulletin
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.
Maui
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
|
| 1908
|
Serious drought on Maui |
| 1953 |
Water rationing on Maui; pineapple production on Molokai
reduced by 30%; rainfall 40% less than normal. |
| 1962
|
State-declared disaster for Maui; crop damage, cattle
deaths, and severe fire hazards; losses totaled $200,000
for Hawaii and Maui |
| 1971 |
Irrigation
and domestic water users sharply curtailed on Maui |
| 1977-78 |
State-declared disaster for Maui |
| 1980-81 |
State-declared disaster for Maui; heavy agricultural
and cattle losses; damage totaling at least $1.4 on
Hawaii and Maui |
| 1996 |
Declared
drought emergency for Maui and Molokai; heavy damages
to agriculture and cattle industries; losses totaling
at least $9.4 million on Hawaii, Maui, and Molokai |
| 1998 |
State-declared drought emergency for Maui |
| 1999,
2000 |
State-declared
drought emergency for Maui |
Source:
State Department of Land and Natural Resources, National
Weather Service, State Civil Defense Division
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