Kauaʻi residents are becoming more aware of emergency procedures, according to the results of a county survey.
The Kauaʻi District Health Office asked 177 people about their health, emergency preparedness and awareness of climate change impacts.
The percentage of households with an emergency communication plan rose by 15% since 2023. Also, 80% of residents knew that they should have a 14-day supply of essential supplies like food, water and medication.
When that recommendation was rolled out in 2019 by the Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency, less than half of Kauaʻi residents were aware of it.
Kauaʻi District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman explained that the results of this survey will make it easier for the county to assess the community in the case of a disaster.
"This was the first time we asked people just about the general physical and mental health of their households and those ratings were really remarkably high, with more than 80% saying that their mental and physical health was very good or excellent," Berreman said.
"That really tells us that the Kauaʻi community is resilient, which we have seen and know that, but it's nice to have some data that shows that. And it also gives us a great baseline in case we have something happen in the future, and we're asking that question again, we'll be able to see how much it's changed," she continued.
She said that the wildfires on Maui likely increased community concern about disaster preparedness and that there’s an opportunity to better engage with people about the impacts of climate change.
