Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 6, 1 June 2022 — Wainiha Community Resilience Center A Vision to Help the lsolated North Shore of Kaua'i Prepare for Disaster Events [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Wainiha Community Resilience Center A Vision to Help the lsolated North Shore of Kaua'i Prepare for Disaster Events

By Lisa Huynh Eller Record-breaking rainstorms battered the North Shore of Kaua'i in April 2018. The torrential downpour was Kaua'i's worst storm since Hurricane 'Iniki in 1992 and triggered severe flooding and more than a dozen landslides, shutting down the highway and isolating the communities of Hā'ena and Wainiha. Though residents were experienced in responding to emergencies, the scale of those recent events underscored the need for a permanent plaee to gather and organize. That plaee, the Wainiha Community Reslience Center, is slated for construction this summer. "This isolated area is accessible by seven single-lane bridges and is extremely vulnerable to a number of environmental hazards," said Caren Diamond, executive director of Mālama Kua'āina, a nonprofit organization focused on the preservation and protection of public trust resources and the natural environment of Kaua'i. "Having this space is an opportunity for the eommunity to be more prepared and resilient when faced with disaster events. As there are presently no emergency services located in this area, the community center will be incredibly useful during emergencies." The 2018 storm events generated numerous conversations about access to emergency services and resources, according to Alan Clinton, project manager with the County of Kaua'i Planning Department. 'As the community worked together in assisting eaeh other, they called for a shared space to gather," he said. "These conversations, in addition to community resiliency planning efforts, were the prime contributions to the

first design of the facility that was presented to the eommunity in 2020." The initial design for the facility was shared with the Hanalei to Hā'ena Community Association and othei residents in late 2019, Clinton noted. The designs were then shared at a community open house in early 2020. The project team made adjustments to the design based on a number of community concerns related to burial mitigation considerations and wastewater treatment. Clinton said the concerns were addressed via the inelusion of a UV aerobic septic system, including mounded leaeh fields, and the reduction of the height of the facility. The Wainiha Community Resilience Center is intended to provide emergency response and recovery services during emergency periods and to function as a eommunity center for structured events and operations during the rest of the year, according to county ofhcials. It is not and will not function as a certified emergency shelter. The center's tenants will include State Parks, County of Kaua'i Fire, County of Kaua'i Poliee, and a community organization. Maka'ala Ka'aumoana, executive director of the Hanalei Watershed Hui, said the center is not replacing the community, but rather enhancing the wealth of knowledge and experience that has long existed. "The eommunities in this plaee, in Hā'ena and Wainiha, are resilient for a reason. They know their plaee," said Ka'aumoana.

In April 2018, a series of thunderstorms produced record-breaking rninfnll j on Knun'i. Between April 14 ond 15, on ostounding 49.69 inches of roin fell in north Kouo'i - among some of the heoviest roinfoll ever recorded worldwide in o 24-hour period. It coused cotostrophic flosh flooding ond londslides. More thon 500 homes were destroyed or domoged, as were roads and severol bridges. Overoll domoge wūs estimoted ot $125 million. For o yeor, regulor troffic to Woinihū and Hō'ena wūs limited due to ongoing rood repoirs.

"1heyTe not resilient by education or training or anything like that. They're resilient because they know their plaee. They know whieh rock is going to eome down. They know whieh mountain is going to slide. They know SEE WAINIHA C0MMUNITY RESILIENCE CENTER 0N PAGE 22

whieh road is going to flood. To try and do this kind of work, or to respond to those kinds of incidents as someone from the outside, would be a waste of time."

WAINIHA COMMUNITY RESILIENCECENTER Continued from page 17

Ka'aumoana's group developed the Hanalei to Hā'ena Community Disaster Resilience Plan, whieh helped identify gaps in preparedness, risks and vulnerabilities, resources, knowledge and visions for improving resilience. The $2.5 million project is funded by State of Hawai'i monies tied to the 2018 flooding events in Kaua'i. The construction of the center is slated to begin this summer and is anticipated to take just under 11 months to complete. The project team is currently finalizing the site and grading plan with County of Kaua'i

Puhlie Works. The County of Kaua'i will initially assume costs for regular facility use and operations. They said future hnaneial responsibilities, and the long-term management of the center, will be determined in conversation with the communities themselves. Ka'aumoana said the creation of the center is a good example of how community and government ean work successfully together. She pointed out that county staff and the Hā'ena community have built a foundation of trust after working closely together in the aftermath of the devastating storms. "With the 2018 flood, the county embedded staff in Hā'ena because access was very limited and they learned what that community was really like, on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis living in the community and working with the community," she said. "Those lessons were golden." ■

Ready access fo sufficient supplies of non-perishable food ifems to feed the community in the event of another disaster, along with other basic supplies, is just one gap in community preparedness that needs to be rectified. - Photo: Courtesy

i : Artist's rendering of the planned Wainiha Community Resilience Center. Construction is slated to begin this summer. - Photos: Courtesy