HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

89

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE HAWAII STATE CIVIL DEFENSE TO CONDUCT A STUDY REGARDING WHAT ACTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN WHEN PEOPLE REFUSE TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES OR CLOSE THEIR BUSINESSES LOCATED IN EVACUATION ZONES DURING NATURAL DISASTERS.

 

 


     WHEREAS, Hawaii is vulnerable to natural disasters and weather extremes ranging from floods, hurricanes, tidal waves, tsunamis, high surf, earthquakes, mudslides, and volcanic activity; and

 

     WHEREAS, responses to natural disasters require sound decision-making and planning to ensure public safety and save lives; and

 

     WHEREAS, in any major natural disaster, it may take as long as seventy-two hours for emergency personnel to get to evacuation zones to offer assistance or perform rescues from buildings; and

 

     WHEREAS, during natural disaster warnings, such as the 2012 tsunami threat, some people refused to evacuate their homes and businesses refused to close, which created traffic hazards and threats to public safety; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii State Civil Defense is requested to conduct a study regarding:

 

(1)  What actions, if any, should be taken by the State in the interest of public safety when people refuse to leave their homes and businesses refuse to close in evacuation zones during natural disasters; and

 

(2)  What situations, if any, would remaining in evacuation zones during natural disasters be appropriate due to the possibility of "vertical evacuation"; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii State Civil Defense is requested to provide the Legislature with a progress report on the study no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014 and provide a final report, including its findings and recommendations, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Civil Defense.

Report Title: 

State Civil Defense; Natural Disasters; Evacuation Zones