As Hurricane Douglas approaches the state with 90 mph sustained winds, it's time to dust off the household emergency plan, stock up on supplies and work out how to reach family and friends if the power goes out.
Emergency supplies
• Fourteen days' worth of food and supplies and a gallon of water per day per person is a good place to start. Here's a quick emergency kit checklist as a reminder of what else you'll need. Remember to add face masks and hand sanitizer.
• Check that you have enough medicine and medical supplies for each member of the family.
• Stock up on supplies if you have a pet. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides this pet disaster preparedness checklist.
• Get copies of your essential documents together in case you need to evacuate. Make sure orignals are in a safe place if you don't need them right away. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides guidance on what documents to have and to keep safe in a disaster.
• Fill up your gas tank and make sure you have enough cash on hand should a power outage make ATMs inaccessible.
Prepare your home
• Wind and flooding can cause a lot of damage, as we know from past storms. The Sea Grant program has a comprehensive homeowner'shandbook to help you get your house ready. It provides such information as a breakdown of the type of damage you can expect from different categories of storms.
• What's your home risk for flooding? The FEMA has a Flood Map Service Center tool. You can submit your address and find out your home's risk for flooding.
• Hawaiian Electric Co. has an emergency preparedness handbookthat includes such information as tips on electrical safety, power outages, and safe water storage. (Full disclosure: HECO is a sponsor of HPR).
Emergency alerts
• Keep in touch with the federal, state and your county's emergency agencies. Track their social media posts and sign up for text messages when available.
Federal: Central Pacific Hurricane Center/NOAA; @NWSHonolulu
State: Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; @Hawaii_EMA
Oahu: Department of Emergency Management; @Oahu_DEM
Hawaii Island: Civil Defense Agency; @CivilDefenseHI
Maui County: Emergency Management Agency
Kauai County: Emergency Management Agency
• Alerts in multiple languages -- including Ilocano, Tagalog, Korean, Japanese, and Marshallese -- are available from the City and County of Honolulu mobile app, HNL Info.
• Keep on top of the news. We're partial to Hawaii Public Radio's website and mobile app, which you can download in the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Emergency shelters
The American Red Cross that staffs emergency shelters advises residents to shelter in place. Emergency shelters are opening, but because of COVID-19, space will be limited with social distancing measures in place.
Anyone who goes to a shelter will undergo a temperature check and health questionnaire. If someone is found with symptoms, he or she will be quarantined separately.
Check the latest information for your county before proceeding to a shelter since not all of the facilities on the lists below will be open. Emergency shelters are not stocked with supplies, so if you must evacuate to one, bring your food, clothing, medical supplies, personal hygiene supplies and a mat or cot for sleeping.
Oahu Opens Today, 9 a.m.
Pets allowed at all locations but must be securely leased or caged.
* Hawaiian Humane Society staffed.
—Central - *Mililani HS, 95-1200 Meheula Pkway
—Central - Moanalua HS, 2825 Ala Ilima St.
—Central - Waialua H/I, 67-160 Farrington Hwy.
—Honolulu - *Hawaii Convention Center, 1801 Kalakaua Ave.
—Honolulu - Niu Valley MS, 310 Halemaumau St.
—Leeward - *Campbell HS, 91-980 North Rd.
—Leeward - Leihoku ES, 86-285 Leihoku St.
—Leeward - *Nanakuli H/I, 889-980 Nakakuli Ave.
—Leeward - *Pearl City HS, 2100 Hookiekie St.
—Waimanalo - *Castle HS, 45-386 Kaneohe Bay Dr.
—Windward - Kalaheo HS, 730 Iliaina St.
—Windward - *King IS, 46-155 Kamehameha Hwy.
—Windward - Pope ES, 41-133 Huli St.
Maui Shelters Open
* Pets allowed at sites indicated but need to be in hard shell kennels
—*Maui HS
—*King Kekaulike
—*South Maui Gym
—Lahaina Intermediate
—Hana HS Opening
—*Lanai HS
—Molokai HS
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said in his daily video that shelters will open as needed. He advised residents to check for updates on the county website.
What would you like to know? Email us at news@hawaiipublicradio.org or call our talkback line at 808-792-8217 and leave a recorded message with your contact information.
