Natural Disaster Emergencies

 

Tropical Storms and Hurricanes are a reality. They are very, very rare, but since they do occur, we want to give you some basic guidelines to follow.

 

You will generally hear about an impending serious storm (Tropical Storm or Hurricane) 3-5 days before they hit the islands. As soon as you hear about a storm of this nature, it is time to prepare. Waiting and not taking immediate action could be detrimental to your preparedness. 

 

Just to be clear, we're talking about a real storm that is rated a 'Tropical Storm' or 'Hurricane', not a normal rain storm that passes through the islands without abnormal incident.

 

If you hear of an impending Tropical Storm or Hurricane, DO NOT WAIT! Stop what you're doing, go out and fill your gas tank and buy extra water, batteries, a flashlight, candles, and your basic essentials in case there are power outages, transportation disruptions, store closures, fuel shortages, communication outages, flight cancellations, etc. 

 

The islands are quickly depleted of all these types of items...always, many days in advance.

 

Again, it is very rare for one of these occurrences to happen, BUT they do happen!

 

So please, should you hear about a Tropical Storm or Hurricane, you must take immediate action to insure that you are prepared the best that you can be.

 

On occasion, you may hear the area wide EMERGENCY ALERT SIREN. It is a siren of clear distinction and should not be ignored. This siren will ring in neighborhoods loudly for many minutes to alert citizens and guests of particular occurrences;

- Tsunami potential

- Flash Flooding potential

- Other occurrences that may need civil alert

 

Please add the following website to your devices when you arrive on the island (or before), so you can access information easily;

http://www.co.maui.hi.us/AlertCenter.aspx

 

This website has up to the moment information on anything to do with Civic Alerts.

 

Tropical Storms and Tropical Cyclones are the same thing.