May 1-7 Is Hurricane Preparedness Week

May 1-7 is Hurricane Preparedness Week in Hawai‘i and the National Weather Service in Honolulu wants everyone to be ready in the event a hurricane threatens the islands.

“During the course of the week, we’ll take you through a number of different preparedness topics,” said John Bravender, warning coordination meteorologist at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, in a YouTube video on Day 1 of Hurricane Preparedness Week.

The first day’s focus was on determining your risk. Hurricanes bring with them a variety of potentially damaging impacts.

“Many people think of winds when it comes to hurricanes and tropical storms,” but wind is just one of the hazards, Bravender said in the video. “In addition to wind that can damage houses or down trees or knock out power, we also have a lot of threat from water.”

Rain can cause flash flooding, such as what happened in 2018 during Hurricane Lane. Hurricanes and tropical storms also can cause high surf and surge along coastlines, which have led to a number of fatalities in the history of tropical cyclones throughout the state, even from distant storms.

“They don’t need to be near the state to create dangerous surf that can be life-threatening,” Bravender said.

Throughout the course of the week, topics such as how to determine if you live in a flood zone or coastal inundation zone and others will be discussed. The focus of Day 2 of Hurricane Preparedness Week was on making evacuation plans if a hurricane or tropical storm looms.

Look for posts on social media, including on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and on the National Weather Service website. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will release the outlook for the 2022 Central Pacific hurricane season on May 18.