Recent hurricanes and the 25th anniversary of 9/11 have brought disasters to the front of mind — and more importantly, how to handle them when they happen.
Karl Kim is an urban planning professor at the University of Hawaiʻi and the executive director of their National Disaster Preparedness Training Center. He wrote a column in the Honolulu Civil Beat on the anniversary of 9/11.
In it, he reflects on the lessons that can be learned from manmade and natural disasters.
Kim joined HPR to speak more about these lessons and how they're more relevant than ever during Hawaiʻi’s 2026 hurricane season.
Interview Highlights
On the impact of manmade and natural disasters
KARL KIM: I've been an urban planning professor for the last 42, 43 years at the University of Hawaiʻi, and I've been studying disasters and hazards and what causes them, but also how people react to them and how we try to address the needs that emerge following disasters. And so one of the things that we look at is when disasters become transformative events. And I think 9/11 was a truly transformative event in terms of the world that we live in. …
Hurricane Iniki was our 9/11, right? Because I actually, it started on I remember, it started on my birthday. I was in my mid-30s at that time, and you know, it was really a transformative event because up until that time it was one of the biggest, most powerful storms, and really, as you know, even though we've had other hurricane events, that was really quite devastating, and not just in terms of the impacts and the lives lost and the tremendous amount of damage that occurred, but also the ongoing challenges of restoring the infrastructure, rebuilding the homes and livelihoods and businesses on Kauaʻi.
On Hawaiʻi's unique need for better disaster detection
KIM: We have to invest in science and technology and sensors and and I think especially in our remote location. I mean, we have this other hazard that, you know, we're surrounded by the ocean. And unlike other places on the continent where you have built-up settlements and you have human sensors that can detect exactly what's happening in terms of the intensity of storms or changes in the in the environment, we're in the middle of the Pacific, and we're reliant on hurricane hunters, on some buoys that are in the ocean, satellite imagery, and so it's really really important for Hawaiʻi to be a leader in terms of these technologies and applying them to detection of different hazards, but also using that to monitor our progress towards building safer, more resilient communities.
On the power of community-based recovery
KIM: It's easy to focus, and we do this too, on the physical infrastructure. It's easier to look at buildings and roads and power systems and, you know, those types of physical attributes. What's as important is the social infrastructure: actually the people, the networks, the communities, and so forth. And a key point, one of the big lessons I think we see with disasters is the power of what we call pro-social behavior. You know, when bad things happen, good people show up, right? … The community is there first on the ground, and the community is there rendering aid. And so part of what we need to do is to mobilize a community in such a way so that the response can be effective, but also safe. Because at the end of the day, it's really important to build strong communities.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 14, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
