Hawaii County Tsunami Damage Assessment 3/11

[punaticbychoice]

Nuclear in Hawaii is idiotic.
We have so many other potential sources of energy here.

[spunky]

Kapohocat - I can not speak for the Pahoa shelter because I was not there. I was busy at the Keaau shelter which had 40+ people. There was ONE Parks & Rec person and ONE Red Cross volunteer (myself). We had NO beds and we turned NO ONE away. These were NOT Red cross shelters; they were evacuation shelters and County Parks & Rec were in charge.

Residents were told to come with their on supplies and that includes sleeping bags and cots. We had plenty of people who brought their own blankets, sheets, pillows and slept on the floor. People SHOULD NOT expect beds at these shelters, especially when they are told to bring all their own supplies. As it was, after polling folks at the shelter, I discovered that I was the only one who had brought a flashlight! Good thing we never lost power! And yes, we also had a lot of people sleep in their cars in the parking lot. Their choice.

If you have a complaint about the cot situation, you should take it up with Parks & Recd. Personally, IMO they were already lucky to have the 10 cots because we didn't even have that.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kapohocat

I was disappointed to hear from two new residents in Kapoho that the shelter at Pahoa Community center would only put together 10 beds and at the time the two gentlemen arrived the 10 beds were gone. They offered to put more together for the workers for themselves and a few others but they were told by the workers no. (and the beds were onsite and available.)

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[Kapohocat]

quote:

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Originally posted by spunky... These were NOT Red cross shelters; they were evacuation shelters and County Parks & Rec were in charge....
If you have a complaint about the cot situation, you should take it up with Parks & Recd. Personally, IMO they were already lucky to have the 10 cots because we didn't even have that.

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Sorry, Spunky. County parks and Rec, not Red Cross. We only drove by the parking lot. That'll be even easier to write the COH P&R Dept head. If it was Red Cross I wouldnt do it as they have their hands full still yet.

The issue was not cots being there. A P&R worker said "We only put 10 together unless there is damage". My friend offered to help put some or all of the other packed cots that were THERE ON SITE together and take them apart and pack back up when done to help them.

I dont know if you saw that part in my post, it does change how it is perceived. The cots were available, and the workers refused to allow any one to put more than 10 together.

and yes, of course, everyone should have been prepared with everything. But it was a emergency situation and people dont always think about what they will need. I just realized in my emergency kit that I either need ground coffee in it or a hand grinder. And we needed this same thing 3 weeks ago when tree fell on power line so I should have done it already and I havent (yet).

And of course, the 85 yr old couple was lucky they had a car to sleep in, or they are lucky they have a neat little house in Kapoho to have to evacuate from. We are all lucky nothing much happened on the East side.

Honestly, IMHO, this is a case of where "by the book" overcame "common sense and volunteerism".

-Cat

[spunky]

Kapohocat - if there were extra cots and they weren't allowed to use them at the Pahoa shelter then perhaps you may want to take that up with Parks & Rec. Not being there I can't speak to the situation.
As I mentioned, we didn't even have cots - we had entire families sleeping on the floor.

But it does go back to my early comment that people are just NOT prepared for disasters, and then complain that the government doesn't do enough to help them when disaster strikes.

[Kapohocat]

quote:

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Originally posted by spunky

Kapohocat - if there were extra cots and they weren't allowed to use them at the Pahoa shelter then perhaps you may want to take that up with Parks & Rec. Not being there I can't speak to the situation.
As I mentioned, we didn't even have cots - we had entire families sleeping on the floor.

But it does go back to my early comment that people are just NOT prepared for disasters, and then complain that the government doesn't do enough to help them when disaster strikes.

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IMHO and with respect, You are still missing the point.

The volunteer was offering his help. Not asking for anything. Extra Cots were there!! And if I am not mistaken, parks and rec is funded by our taxes which essentially does make them "our cots" - the government just does the purchasing on our behalf. So the volunteer was asking to use something his tax dollars bought!

On your other note, we in the spirit of the horse will come out of the barn again, are working with our neighborhood, to bring everyone up to a better prepared state so people will be ready. One of the suggestions I am going to make is as the evac begins is to go around to each house with a printed list for people to hold onto and grab those items. So flash lights arent forgotten. Sort of a reminder of what to grab since they may not have done their kit beforehand (preferable choice!).

On that note: NW Meeting 11:00 AM March 23 - on Waiopae Rd in Vacationland.

[hawaiideborah]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kapohocat
On your other note, we in the spirit of the horse will come out of the barn again, are working with our neighborhood, to bring everyone up to a better prepared state so people will be ready. One of the suggestions I am going to make is as the evac begins is to go around to each house with a printed list for people to hold onto and grab those items. So flash lights arent forgotten. Sort of a reminder of what to grab since they may not have done their kit beforehand (preferable choice!).

On that note: NW Meeting 11:00 AM March 23 - on Waiopae Rd in Vacationland.

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This is great Cat.
Very pro-active.
I am also talking to neighbors and getting lists together. This is an opportunity to learn and get it right for the next time.

[KeaauRich]

How about posting that list and/or distributing it before disaster strikes. Whenever we lose power, it always takes me 20 minutes to find the flashlight (and even then I only find it because the lights have come back on...)

[hawaiideborah]

We have moved from the oceanfront of Washington coast tsunami area to another tsunami area. Our old community got hit with 3 ft. wave in the small village it did some damage to the stores and marina.
For the last 10 years living on the Pacific coast our tsunami kit consisted of:
flashlights with packaged batteries, a wind-up NOAA/Red Cross weather radio (bought at Best Buy), emergency blankets, rain ponchos, whistles with shrill sound, disposable gloves, "gardening" gloves, tissue paper, drinking water pouches, protein bars, first aid kit, dog and cat leashes, addresses, phone numbers and emails of loved ones and bottled water. All except bottled water are kept in backpack in front closet that can be grabbed at short notice. Bottled water is on floor of same closet.

There are probably other things that we should have, but this is our kit we have taken with us on the tsunami evacuations that were on the Pacific Ocean of Washington. We change the batteries when the package expires and change the water every 6 months. We now have this pack in our new Hawaii closet ready to go.

[Kapohocat]

http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/

HIDeb, that is a great suggestion! A backpack already to go. So when everyone is flustered and the sirens are going off they just grab the backpack first!

[Obie]

What to Bring to a Shelter
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First aid kit
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Medicine, prescriptions
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Baby food and diapers
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Games, books, music players with headphones
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Toiletries
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Battery powered radio and cell phone
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Flashlights
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Extra batteries
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A blanket or sleeping bag for each person
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Identification
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Copies of key papers such as insurance policies
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Cash, credit card
REMINDER: If you are told to leave, do so immediately!