Bill Text: HI SR2 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency To Develop A Preliminary Draft Evacuation Plan For The Areas Within Lava Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, And 6.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-06-06 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06/06/22. [SR2 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-SR2-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	2
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the hawaii emergency management agency to develop a preliminary DRAFT evacuation plan for the areas within lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.

 

 

     WHEREAS, Mauna Loa is unique as the largest active volcano on Earth, rising approximately 13,680 feet above sea level and encompassing more than half the land mass of Hawai‘i Island; and

 

     WHEREAS, having erupted thirty-three times since 1843, a future eruption of Mauna Loa along its southwest rift zone would put developed South Kona and Ka‘ū communities at risk; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Kīlauea volcano is currently erupting with lava pouring into the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, with a potential eruption on its southwest flank posing a direct threat to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, as well as the district of Ka‘ū; and

 

     WHEREAS, on April 19, 2021, the United States Geological Survey, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and County of Hawai‘i Civil Defense provided a brief to the Hawai‘i Island Legislative Delegation regarding the probability of an eruption at Mauna Loa, where it was identified that there is no current evacuation plan in place specifically for lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to Senate Resolution No. 51 (2021), which requested the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency to develop an evacuation plan for the areas within lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency has reported issues with staffing that prevent the agency from adequately responding to the Legislature's request; and

 

     WHEREAS, in light of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency's response and coordination of multiple immediate emergencies, including the 2018 disasters and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, it is vital that the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency prioritizes proactive planning, which includes developing operational support emergency management plans for volcanic eruptions throughout the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, the imminent threat of Mauna Loa and Kīlauea volcanic eruptions to Hawai‘i Island warrants the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency to expeditiously collaborate with the County of Hawai‘i to develop a preliminary draft evacuation plan for lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency is requested to develop a preliminary draft evacuation plan for the areas within lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, which include but are not limited to South Kona and Ka‘ū; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency is requested to submit the preliminary draft evacuation plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency, Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, and members of the Hawai‘i County Council.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; County of Hawaii; District 3; Preliminary Draft Evacuation Plan