State of Hawaii’s Annual Hurricane Exercise
An “exercise version” of the Hawaii edition of the Natural Hazards Atlas contained uniquely-tailored products for the 2006 Makani Pahili state hurricane exercise. In the image above, the hypothetical storm “Makani” tracks through the Hawaiian Island chain—the extents of damaging winds are shown in concentric circles, with the projected track depicted in a “cone” extending from the storm center. Click for full view.

Since 1997, the Pacific Disaster Center has been an active partner in “Makani Pahili,” Hawaii’s annual statewide hurricane preparedness exercise. Makani Pahili helps to prepare state and county organizations for the Central Pacific hurricane season, which begins June 1 and extends through November 30.

“We are proud to have been supporting Hawaii’s emergency managers in this high profile exercise for nearly a decade,” said PDC Chief Operating Officer Ray Shirkhodai. “Given that the State was influenced by three tropical systems last season, Makani Pahili has even more importance this year.”

Makani Pahili 2006

The exercise scenario simulated the approach and impact of a Category 4 hurricane to the Hawaiian Islands that caused major damage to every island in the State.

In preparation, the Center conducted trainings on PDC’s exercise support products for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Civil Defense agencies, as well as other county-level personnel. Another training was held for federal partners including U.S. Army Pacific and the Joint Task Force for Homeland Defense. In total, these sessions supported over 100 officials participating in Makani Pahili.

During the exercise itself (between May 15 and 19, 2006), PDC posted products to its secure website based on exercise-specific weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service. These included a variety of “pre-landfall” PDC-created storm track maps, model-based wind damage estimates, and other weather situational awareness products. “Post-landfall” products included damage assessment maps of each island that were also created to support emergency managers in response and recovery operations. These products were also published to an “exercise version” of the Hawaii edition of the Natural Hazards Atlas.

In addition, the Center provided support “on the ground” at the Hawaii State Emergency Operations Center by conducting on-site technical assistance for the staff of Hawaii State Civil Defense, U.S. Pacific Command, and the 196th Infantry Brigade.

Damage assessment product for Maui created by PDC for the Makani Pahili exercise. There are “clickable” areas (yellow boxes) that contain additional levels of detail.