Honolulu councilmembers urge more department coordination during emergencies
By HPR News Staff
September 30, 2025 at 2:15 PM HST
Honolulu councilmembers pushed the city Department of Emergency Management for more coordination and public awareness for evacuation plans following the July tsunami warning.
The department provided an overview to the council's Public Safety Committee on how the emergency was handled — and lessons learned.
Councilmember Val Okimoto questioned Director Randal Collins about his public-facing role during an emergency.
"What do you understand your role to be? Because it sounds like the departments are waiting, looking for that type of direction of leadership," she said.
"You have multiple departments that have to coordinate and communicate, especially in these emergency situations. So what do you understand your position to be? I'm not going to lie, when I was watching the news, I was waiting for more leadership from you, and we had met in my office previously, but this was the first time where you had been tested publicly in your capacity."
One of the main takeaways from the department's presentation was the need for more public education regarding evacuation– especially how to determine if a person in a high-rise building needs to evacuate.
Collins said that will help alleviate the gridlock traffic that many people experienced during the emergency.
The department’s comprehensive emergency management plan is not public-facing, but Collins told councilmembers he would provide them copies of it.
The department provided an overview to the council's Public Safety Committee on how the emergency was handled — and lessons learned.
Councilmember Val Okimoto questioned Director Randal Collins about his public-facing role during an emergency.
"What do you understand your role to be? Because it sounds like the departments are waiting, looking for that type of direction of leadership," she said.
"You have multiple departments that have to coordinate and communicate, especially in these emergency situations. So what do you understand your position to be? I'm not going to lie, when I was watching the news, I was waiting for more leadership from you, and we had met in my office previously, but this was the first time where you had been tested publicly in your capacity."
One of the main takeaways from the department's presentation was the need for more public education regarding evacuation– especially how to determine if a person in a high-rise building needs to evacuate.
Collins said that will help alleviate the gridlock traffic that many people experienced during the emergency.
The department’s comprehensive emergency management plan is not public-facing, but Collins told councilmembers he would provide them copies of it.