Department of Human Services

I N T E R N A L C O M M U N I C A T I ON   F O R M DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES			Suspense
Subject:   Hurricane Preparedness			Originator:    S. Yamamoto
To:   All Employees of DHS	From:   DDIR	Date:   6/8/06		Memo No. 1

 

 

Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through November.  The seriousness of a hurricane disaster or any disaster cannot be emphasized enough especially if Hawaii is hit directly and we incur loss of lives and massive property destruction.  We are once again reminding all our employees of the importance of being prepared, both at home and at work.  We have all seen the personal consequences of not being prepared as Katrina revealed last year.  The cavalry did not come to the rescue as many were expecting.  Being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by ourselves, enforces our belief that we need to be self-sustaining.

Your primary responsibility is to develop and communicate your Family Emergency Plan to your family members.  Practice, so your family is familiar with it.  Some of you have parents or other relatives or friends who will need extra help in getting to safety.  Be sure to provide for their safety in your Family Plans.

Please use the attached information from our County Civil Defense Agencies as a starter.  The HEI website,www.heco.com, in their Safety and Emergency menu, also provides excellent information which you can use.  The phonebooks for each County also provide Disaster Readiness information.  Take the time to access and read the information found here.  FEMA also has very useful information andwww.fema.gov/areyouready is a good resource for individual and family disaster planning.

Our Department has an added responsibility for over 200,000 clients who could be affected by the disaster and to whom we must provide necessary services in the aftermath.  We will not be able to provide these services timely in a disaster if we cannot be assured that our families are safe first.

Please prepare yourselves and your families.  Katrina has been a wake-up call all over the nation.

Other websites with Disaster Preparedness information:

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DDIR

www.oahucivildefense.com

www.hawaii-county.com

www.co.maui.hi.us/departments/Civil Defense

www.kauai.gov/departments/Civil Defense