Governor: Now’s the time to prepare for hurricane season

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The hurricane season in the Central Pacific starts in June.

So in May, state and federal officials are asking residents to prepare.

The governor has declared next week Hurricane Preparedness Week in Hawaii.

“It just takes one storm to devastate a community and affect your life and the lives or your family for a long time,” Gov. David Ige said, at a news conference at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center on Friday.

While it’s too early to tell what this year’s hurricane season could look like, National Weather Service meteorologist John Bravender said they are worried about the public becoming complacent.

“We tried to tell them we’ve been lucky but it’s just the training, trying to repeat that message and keep people from becoming too complacent is why we’re doing this,” said Bravender.

In 2020, Hurricane Douglas was a close call for Hawaii.

It passed just a few dozen miles north of the islands, sparing the state from any devastating impacts.

And although we’re about a month out from the start of hurricane season, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said preparing takes time.

“If you are planning a project to strengthen your home for hurricane season ― or even just to stock up on emergency supplies ― we encourage you to beat the rush,” HIEMA spokesman Adam Weintraub said.

Ige added the state is also preparing for the season.

“We’d been meeting with all of the critical infrastructure, especially in light of the ban on Russian oil,” said Ige. “We have been very much focused on all the critical needs of our community and making sure that we have ways to get supplies.”

It’s recommended that you have 14 days worth of supplies, including food, water, and medicine.

In case all local communications are cut off, Bravender added that you should choose one point of contact outside of the state.

“That way, you don’t have every family member trying to call you and reach the islands and saturating our phone lines,” Bravender said.

The National Weather Service will announce its Central Pacific hurricane season outlook on May 18.

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