| The Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency is presenting a Disaster Preparedness Fair in Ocean View on Saturday, Jan. 24 as part of a series of outreach events focused on rural communities across Hawaiʻi Island.
The event, held from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center, will be hosted by the Ocean View Resilience Hub and the Hawaiian Volcanoes Education and Resilience Institute (HVERI).
It will feature a presentation by experts with Civil Defense and the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, as well as prize giveaways and a chance to talk story about emergency preparedness and disaster response. The presentation, looking at Mauna Loa eruptions and how the community can prepare, will be webcast by HVERI at www.youtube.com/@HVERI/videos.
“We are only resilient to natural disasters if our whole island is prepared,” said Mayor Kimo Alameda. “That is why it is important for us to bring information and resources to every corner of our island, and we encourage everyone to take part.”
The Ocean View event also will highlight the stronger KWXX-FM radio signal now available in Ka‘ū and South Kona, allowing more residents to reliably receive emergency alert messages during a hurricane, eruption or other hazard. Others presenting information at the event include Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, American Red Cross, Hawai‘i State Department of Health, Community Emergency Response Teams, and Vibrant Hawai‘i.
“This effort is part of our mission to deliver public safety information to the last person, in the last house, on the last block of every community of Hawai‘i Island,” said Talmadge Magno, Civil Defense Administrator.
After the Ocean View event, Civil Defense plans to partner with the Kohala Resilience Hub to present disaster preparedness information at their Ohana Fun Day event in North Kohala on March 14. Other events are also being planned. |
