Bill Text: HI HCR35 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Requesting The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency To Develop A Preliminary Draft Evacuation Plan For The Areas Within Lava Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, And 6.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-04-29 - Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 931). [HCR35 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-HCR35-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

35

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the hawaii emergency management agency to develop a preliminary DRAFT evacuation plan for the areas within lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.

 

 


     WHEREAS, Mauna Loa is unique as the largest active volcano on Earth, rising approximately 13,680 feet above sea level and encompassing more than half the land mass of Hawaii Island; and

 

     WHEREAS, having erupted thirty-three times since 1843, a future eruption of Mauna Loa along its southwest rift zone would put developed South Kona and Kaū communities at risk; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Kīlauea volcano is currently erupting with lava pouring into the lava lake within Halemaumau crater, with a potential eruption on its southwest flank posing a direct threat to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, as well as the district of Kaū; and

 

     WHEREAS, on April 19, 2021, the United States Geological Survey, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and County of Hawaii Civil Defense provided a brief to the Hawaii Island Legislative Delegation regarding the probability of an eruption at Mauna Loa, where it was identified that there is no current evacuation plan in place specifically for lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to Senate Resolution No. 51 (2021), which requested the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop an evacuation plan for the areas within lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency has reported issues with staffing that prevent the agency from adequately responding to the Legislature's request; and

 

     WHEREAS, in light of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's response and coordination of multiple immediate emergencies, including the 2018 disasters and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, it is vital that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency prioritizes proactive planning, which includes developing operational support emergency management plans for volcanic eruptions throughout the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, the imminent threat of Mauna Loa and Kīlauea volcanic eruptions to Hawaii Island warrants the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to expeditiously collaborate with the County of Hawaii to develop a preliminary draft evacuation plan for lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is requested to develop a preliminary draft evacuation plan for the areas within lava zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, which include but are not limited to South Kona and Kaū; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is requested to submit the preliminary draft evacuation plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Mayor of the County of Hawaii, and members of the Hawaii County Council.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; County of Hawaii; District 3; Preliminary Draft Evacuation Plan

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