In a widespread disaster, many people rely on emergency radio broadcasts for the latest information. To strengthen its national network of broadcasting facilities, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has partnered with local AM radio station CBS 1500, or KHKA.
Hawaiʻi joined other states Wednesday in securing an emergency broadcast studio where two operators can live independently for 60 days. The facility is designed to withstand weather and human-caused disasters.
"We have 74 radio stations all over the country that participate in the National Public Warning System, also known as primary entry point or PEP. This is the first one in Hawaiʻi," said Manny Centeno, FEMA’s program manager for the NPWS.
The KHKA antenna tower site off Nimitz Highway is owned by aio, which also runs the media group that includes Hawaiʻi Magazine.
"This whole project is fitting for us, because it sits right on top of why our companies exist, and what our vision is for the future of Hawaiʻi," said Duane Kurisu, founder and chair of aio.
Centeno said Kurisu's company is not getting paid to house the emergency broadcast facility.
"He's volunteering his station and his property at that site in order to allow the government to install that equipment. Now, that is equipment that is going to be operated by the radio station, but it's completely a public interest matter for KHKA," Centeno told HPR.
The KHKA tower also acts as a relay site for FEMA to maintain communications with Guam and American Samoa. In the aftermath of Typhoon Mawar, Centeno said the radio station on Guam is still on the air.
FEMA said the upgraded site is just in time for Hawaiʻi as the hurricane season begins June 1.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 25, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
