Page 6 - MidWeek Central - Oct 27, 2021

6 OCTOBER 27, 2021
Mililani Man Urges The Community To Prepare For Disasters
BY MARIA KANAI
sociation to host meetings and educate people.
Rep. Ryan Yamane and Cen- tral O‘ahu (schools) super- intendent Bob Davis’ strong support,” Sakai says.
Sakai explains.
The steps may sound easy,
A year after Brad Sakai retired from the National Guard, he and his wife heard about how three category 4 hurricanes hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.
It was a challenge, due to the previous lack of hurri- canes hitting O‘ahu directly, and people didn’t seem to see the need to have a plan in place.
He has now paused the meetings but continues to find ways to get the word out, including things like fliers, articles, social media and newsletters.
Sakai says, but each one lays the foundation for a future community plan.
“These were rare events where people in those com- munities stated they have never seen this happen be- fore in their lifetime,” says Sakai, a Mililani resident.
“However, Iniki had been heading toward O‘ahu until it was nudged over toward Kaua‘i. Yes, a direct hit on O‘ahu would be rare but not impossible,” Sakai explains.
Participating in the Hawai’i Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program graduation ceremony in August at Mililani Recreation Center 2 are (from left) Janice Nakashima, state Rep. Ryan Yamane, Sheryl Gardner, instructor Bruce Oliveira, Noriko Salangdron, Wil Alvarado, Brad and Momi Sakai, Arthur Lai and Walton Auyong. PHOTO COURTESY BRAD SAKAI
of Honolulu Department of Emergency Manage- ment and the Hawai‘i Na- tional Guard to complete a program called Hawai‘i Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program. Sakai enrolled and recently grad- uated after completing a ta- bletop exercise.
“We have shifted our fo- cus to encourage residents what they can do right now in preparing for any emergency — primarily a hurricane — and we came up with three things they can do. One is to get to know your neighbors. Two, build a disaster kit. And three, strengthen your home,” Sakai explains.
“Getting to know your neighbors is important. Make eye contact, even if you don’t like those folks, at least acknowledge that they exist,” Sakai shares.
That was when he and his wife decided it was time to take action. They wanted to do something to give back to their community. In May 2018, he put together the Mililani Disaster Prepared- ness Team.
Luckily, he didn’t have to start from scratch in devel- oping a community emer- gency plan.
Before and during the training, Sakai and his wife continued to hold monthly evening meetings at differ- ent recreation centers in Mil- ilani to get the word out to recruit volunteers.
He recommends having 14 days worth of food and water in your disaster kit.
Sakai worked together with the Mililani Town As-
“Besides the 20-plus ded- icated members of our team, I really appreciated (state)
“Take a look at your home and make sure it is strong enough to resist a disaster,”
For more information and to volunteer, visit mili- lanidpt.com or email milila- nipt@gmail.com.
He learned how Waimāna- lo had already done some- thing similar in 2015 by working with the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency, City & County
These are his short-term goals. His long-term vision is getting the word out and pulling together resources for a community plan that’s in place until help arrives.
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