New Hawai‘i State Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted

The Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency has released the 2023 update to the State Hazard Mitigation Plan, a document that provides a framework for future efforts to reduce the risk of hazards across Hawai‘i.

The plan will be used to guide work in the years ahead to reduce or eliminate the harm caused to Hawai‘i and its communities by wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, and other hazards. The state fully updates the plan every five years, and it must be approved by the Governor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency; additional amendments may be made annually to reflect plan changes by the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency, the counties and other partners.

The Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency began collecting public comments on the new plan in December 2022, including a series of public meetings across the state and virtual meetings via teleconference. Gov. Josh Green formally adopted the plan on Sept. 27, 2023. FEMA requires that states must have an approved hazard mitigation plan to qualify for numerous federal assistance and mitigation grants.

“This plan is a cornerstone of the work that emergency managers do to reduce the risk and harm from known hazards,” said James Barros, Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency administrator. “The state works with the counties and the counties work with their communities to turn this plan into projects that protect life and property.”

The 2023 State Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies the major natural hazards that affect our state, assesses the risk that each hazard poses, analyzes the vulnerability of our people, property and infrastructure to the specific hazard, and recommends actions that can be taken to reduce the risk and vulnerability to the hazard.

The updated plan can be found on the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency website at https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/final-2023-hazard-mitigation-plan/.