Annual Hurricane Preparedness Exercise to Test Emergency Management Systems Statewide

The State of Hawaiʻi will conduct the annual 2022 Makani Pahili series of exercises to test statewide hurricane preparedness and response capabilities from Monday, May 9 to Friday, May 16.

The exercise is coordinated by the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.

Makani Pahili, meaning “strong winds” in Hawaiian, is the stateʻs annual hurricane preparedness exercise. This year will mark a return to in-person events; restrictions during the COVID-19 emergency period limited the 2020 and 2021 events to largely virtual events.

“These exercises provide a crucial test of Hawaii‘s emergency management systems, showing us what works well and what needs improvement before a storm hits and lives are on the line,” said Luke Meyers, Administrator of HI-EMA. “A challenging test makes us stronger.”

The weeklong exercise series will test key elements of the state’s response to a simulated Category 4 hurricane. County emergency management agencies will participate, along with federal, private, and nonprofit partners, and state leadership.

As part of the exercise, the State Emergency Operations Center inside Diamond Head Crater in Honolulu will be activated on Monday, May 9. Events associated with the activation are not expected to impact the public, but there is a possibility that individuals monitoring radio broadcasts on certain channels may hear radio chatter by participating HAM Radio operators from the state Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) program.

A safety officer will be on hand to monitor activities. In the event of an injury during the simulation or a real-world emergency, the exercise will be halted.