HONOLULU — A series of meetings across the state this month will give members of the public an opportunity to help build a safer Hawai‘i.

The first in a series of meetings to be held throughout the month of April will be held at 4 p.m. HST on Wednesday, April 5, at the Hawaii Department of Defense complex on 22nd Avenue in Honolulu.

Other in-person meetings are scheduled for Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i counties later in the month. The meetings had originally been planned for December, but they were postponed because Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) personnel who were organizing them were assigned to work on the Mauna Loa volcanic eruption.

“We fully update these plans every five years because they’re a key tool we use to reduce or eliminate the harm caused by the hazards we face across Hawai‘i,” said James Barros, administrator of HI-EMA. The State and counties rely on these hazard mitigation plans to guide their efforts to protect communities against the threats of flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis and other hazards.

Because those hazards evolve over time and may be different on different islands, HI-EMA will hold meetings on each of the major islands to allow members of the public to provide input for the 2023 State Hazard Mitigation Plan. HI-EMA gathered public input from across the state for the 2023 plan during a virtual meeting in December via video chat.

The planned schedule is listed below:

    April 5, O‘ahu: 4-5 p.m., 424 22nd Avenue, Building 300 Gymnasium, Honolulu
    April 17, Hawai‘i County: Hilo
    April 18, Hawai‘i County: Kailua Kona
    April 19, Moloka‘i: Kaunakakai
    April 20, Maui: Kahului
    April 24, Kaua‘i: Lihu‘e
    April 25, Lana‘i: To be determined