HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

37

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the hawaii department of defense grants management office to ASSIST IN THE PURSUIT OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR an emergency disaster preparedness pilot project for molokai.

 

 

 


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

 

WHEREAS, sufficient planning for natural disasters promotes public safety and potentially saves lives; and

 

WHEREAS, the island of Molokai may be particularly vulnerable to natural disasters: when a tsunami hit Hawaii in 2011, twenty-five out of the twenty-nine damage cases in Maui County were from Molokai; and

 

WHEREAS, Molokai's isolation and rural character may contribute to its vulnerability; and

 

WHEREAS, the Molokai Emergency Preparedness Action Committee is working on a plan to address the needs of residents and visitors should a disaster strike on Molokai; and

 

WHEREAS, the Molokai Emergency Preparedness Action Committee needs funds for essential supplies, emergency equipment, and facilities improvements for disaster shelters in connection with an emergency disaster preparedness pilot project for Molokai; and

 

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Homeland Security oversees the Emergency Management Performance Grants Program that assists local, tribal, territorial, and state governments in building and sustaining all-hazards emergency management capabilities; and

 

 

 

WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2013, the United States Department of Homeland Security allocated a total of $3,366,476 to various emergency management efforts in Hawaii under the Emergency Management Performance Grants Program; and

 

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Department of Defense Grants Management Office is responsible for administering the Homeland Security grant programs, including by applying for and distributing funds through the federal Emergency Management Performance Grants Program; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the Hawaii Department of Defense Grants Management Office is requested to apply to the United States Department of Homeland Security for an Emergency Management Performance Grant for fiscal year 2014 that will pay for planning, supplies, equipment, and facilities improvements for disaster shelters in connection with an emergency disaster preparedness pilot project for Molokai; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Department of Defense Grants Management Office, with assistance from the County of Maui and Maui Civil Defense Agency, is requested to explore the availability of and assist in applying for any other appropriate federal grants to help fund an emergency disaster preparedness pilot project for Molokai; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Acting Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Adjutant General of the Hawaii Department of Defense, Mayor of the County of Maui, and Emergency Management Officer of the County of Maui.

 

                                         

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Emergency Preparedness; Molokai