 This is State Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. I'm Marsha Joyner and we are navigating the journey and today's journey is unlike anything any of us has ever seen. We are today visiting with the mayor of the beautiful city, the county, the Garden Island which, as God created, was one of the most beautiful places on the planet. And last week they had 36 continuous hours of rain, can you imagine? So the mayor has taken time out of his very busy schedule, boots, mud and all to be with us on the telephone. So thank you Mr. Mayor, Mayor Bernard Cavallo. Thank you for taking the time to be with us. Aloha. Aloha Marsha and thank you for the opportunity to share what's happening here on Kauai with all of you and of course the listening audience, so mahalo. Okay, where do we begin? If I may, you know, we obviously navigating to a journey, right, that's the big part We're navigating here. You know, unfortunately we've experienced a terrible disaster situation. We've gone through our share of it from Hurricane Eva in 1982 and then of course Iniki in 1992 and then now with this particular different kind of disaster but it's been devastating to our island, to our people but we have an awesome team in place. We're here at the Emergency Operating Center since Saturday when this whole thing began and so we've been placing all of our people of course in the right roles and try to give you folks an update. We have an incident command station here in our EOC and an incident action plan so I wanted to share a little bit about what are the top priorities right here for us as of today and some of the updates on where we're at as we continue to navigate in addressing some of the disaster areas on our island and unfortunately one part of our island is totally isolated as we speak so that's a big concern for me and for all of us but our priorities right now in these what six areas damage assessment of our public and private property. We're trying to do everything we can with deployed our teams here from our EOC to do boots on the ground and do a thorough assessment of the damages that are happening right now as we speak so we can continue to get all our information together and of course help us to seek assistance here on Kauai. The second area is to provide adequate relief of outgoing personnel and adequate supplies to current shifts so we have a turnover of personnel in this EOC as well as out in the field so we got to make sure everybody is fresh and ready to move and do the work that needs to be done boots on the ground as I stated earlier we're doing a complete restoration of power and water to affected areas some of our areas of Hanalei and Hyena we're kind of intermittent totally out of water and electricity but as of today it's back we're still waiting to get in the testing on our drinking water so we're telling our people out on the Hyena and that they need to not drink the water but they can use the water for other purposes around the home or whatever they need to do but I'm be assured that every effort has been made and it's still being made to provide water and supplies and food and all of that to that part of our island we're also completing the restoration I'm sorry continued debris clearance that's a big big part now the debris and trash that is being accumulated since it's happened and so we're working on a plan and where to place the debris and this big part for us as well and of course there's isolated areas like I mentioned that the community is seeking assistance we have an evacuation plan in place to assure that our people are able to get out of that area safely and then finally of course to maintain the ability to protect our people and thank goodness thank God that there was no actual entries to date but devastating results on homes property land of course and parks facilities etc so that kind of gives your brief outline on our priorities as of today but here at the emergency management system agency we're fully activated of course a flash flood watch is in fact right now starting today tomorrow Thursday until Friday again again oh yeah that is as of 6 30 this morning so we're kind of have that on the side knowing what we have to get done today the U.S. Army and National Guard and the County of Kauai we have airlifted 340 people from the Hainah and the Wainiha Wainiha area since Monday so as we speak Marcia from Wainiha to Hainah is totally isolated the people who live there cannot utilize any vehicle access so the bridge is gone yeah yeah no the devastating landslides oh there's eight plus landslides that are kind of all along the roadway the hillside just coming down onto the roadway so our public works in our state crews have been out and about trying to clear the roadway however the more you clear the more it comes down you know so the integrity of the land area is very unstable right now so there safety issues also involved so this particular area is still assessing the situation unfortunately you know we're talking about three to four weeks before we can actually open up one lane so people can come out of that area of our island so in the meantime we're doing everything we can to the National Guard to the Coast Guard to hearts and souls of the community who step up to look at how they can add their parts whether they be bringing additional food water supplies medical supplies we've identified two locations on this particular area Camp Kauai which is a very popular site there on the north shore and of course one of the hotels how about a colony is another one that is also serving as a distribution site we've deployed several helicopters that go in daily as are there are evacuation efforts to get people out like I said we've evacuated over 300 people from that area already so the landing zone has been identified in that area we're asking people call in to get do their best to get to that landing area and of course the helicopter will take them out to a high higher ground well now where where do you take these people once you get them out where do they go up to we have a principal airport in Hanalei kind of located way up a higher ground of course and once we can get them to that little airport area there the people family we provide transportation whether it be via county bus transportation we get them either to the airport we do have visitors of course in this part of our island and if you're a resident a lot of them are hooking up or teaming up with their family member or friends for now but since Saturday some have chosen to remain in this area and others of course have made the decision to evacuate so we're trying to encourage everybody to if they can to evacuate the area and get to a safer place for now until we can do a better assessment of the entire area so we've been working closely on that there are multi-agency relief efforts from my visitors and our National Guard like I said the American Red Cross we have a solid team here at the EOC trying their very best to address the entire situation now our last conversation with you you told us about the fact that you had all of this in place ready just in case because you had learned so much from the last two hurricanes you know right but unlike the hurricane we we have it's almost a little different well majorly different kind of disaster so yes we have a checklist in place if you will we know what we need to do we've gone to something like this we assembled the team we've done numerous mock type of trainings prior to this with our team a team which is a kawaii emergency management team that has been doing so you know now it's a real situation and I'm so happy with the support from the federal state and county levels of people wanting to help support we've got people in here from Maui from Oahu different members helping alleviate or or transition some of our team members to stay here 24 hours sometime overnight you know for the next day as we transition in the mornings at 6 o'clock and so we're asking for support from our neighboring islands as well from our political leaders to help support what we can in relief efforts or funding so there's a lot of stuff happening but the main part right now is to address an isolated area boots on the ground do assessment of all the damages in other areas and then come up with a checklist so we can submit that for relief efforts and support well now I heard on one of the many newscasts that in fact I think is constant coverage of kawaii the one young man said there were rivers in place that had not that the whole landscape was different can you tell us about that what what is different did mother nature just go back to what it was originally before people started developing tell us what you know that is true I have a chance to get up in the helicopter just the other day back right after I wanted to have an area of view of what is really happening which is why I mentioned the landslides along this critical area of the hyena waniha area and at the same time the the large amount of flooding in all areas of the island and like you said rivers not streams rivers that were created that wasn't there before that went right to different properties it went right to some of our park facilities it went right to some of our eroding many of our restroom facilities in the parks and pavilions you know because that's the weather water came rushing down and so we're trying to address all of that as we speak how homes are you know torn off their foundations but again it's all the homes and structure and land area but thank God till today no life or injuries were reported well we're going to take a break for one minute and we'll be right back to complete our visit with the mayor of kawaii who has taken his time to be with us we'll be right back this is think tech Hawaii raising public awareness you can be the greatest you can be the best you can be the king come play and now your chest you can be the world you can be the war you could talk to God don't welcome to Hawaii this is Prince Dyches your host of the Prince of Investing coming to you guys each and every Tuesday at 11 a.m. right here on think tech Hawaii don't forget to come by and check out some of the great information on stocks, investings, your money, all the other great stuff and I'll be your host see you Tuesday. Aloha I'm Marcia and we are back we are visiting with the mayor of the beautiful island of kawaii and mother nature was not kind I don't know what we did now you're Hawaiian and you're tied to the Ina what did we do what did we do to upset mother nature well I'm gonna say that you know unfortunately um with the with the disaster that took place I mean I think you know we got to continue to work together culturally to honor our land honor our water respect the Ina respect the culture and all of that is so much um sometimes we forget yeah especially as leaders we all need to continue to look at that because you know I believe some of that ties into what happened I would say that but at the same time is how we continue to be a resilient island and resilient community to bounce back and and really wake up and say maybe we got to look at different things and work differently and be more pono and look at our hearts and souls and stay connected spiritually I believe so that we can continue to take care of each other more importantly the land and so now with this thing this is what what has happened recently we're all pulling together like I said we have a great team in place here we have an abundant of support from just community who allows businesses individuals wanting to give water and food and supplies that alone is a big task at hand to coordinate and operate that and place it somewhere that is accessible to people so we're working through that I'm happy with the volunteers from our Red Cross from our food bank and all the different people and donations are being like I said coming in all areas and I wanted to explain or announce some of the areas where donations can be accepted or are being accepted the food bank of Hawaii is a kawaii branch here on kawaii is accepting whatever food items so we're asking them to please come by a kawaii independent food bank is also available Kilauea neighborhood center which is in a higher area on the north shore is receiving all the different supplies and and gifts from the people all in this one area Kilauea neighborhood center over on the south side Kilauea neighborhood center in addition Marcia not only the north shore but other parts of our island were affected like in the Kapa area Keapana totally flooded homes but they're not isolated but they're affected by this storm same like in Kilauea we also accept non-perishable bottled water cleaning supplies hygiene items that being requested first so all of that is being assembled at these locations so we can get it to the people in need but very thankful for all the people who put their hearts and souls into giving and providing support so I wanted to mention that as well tell me now you know our modern-day world operates on fuel so what about getting fuel to those places you know it takes those big trucks to to move all that gasoline and things how do you get fuel out there okay late afternoon we made a call to the robinson family uh knee-how I want to make sure knee-how was doing well it's okay and they're doing okay but through that conversation led to an opportunity to actually deploy a barge that is used to take equipment and supplies from kawaii to knee-how back and forth so we're able to deploy the barge this morning at five o'clock and on that barge we were able to transport a tractor dump trucks a payloader and some of the equipment that is needed to help clear the area in the hyena we're also able to put on extra supplies onto the barge and we have to work with our military our base people captain Vinnie Johnson and the team at PMRF and five o'clock this morning we were able to deploy that barge and it was going to go over and land over in hyena to get supplies out there and on the barge include drums of gas fuel as well and so we were able to transport fuel also on this barge and we're going to continue to do that via the barge and we have water wagon stew to help support as well so we're working closely with with all the team members well now of course I didn't think about knee-how but how did they do in the storm you know we we kind of forget them no no our fortune is no I said we do yeah no major damage but very um willing to help and so very happy with that and happy that knee-how is okay but they're willing to help and this is part of their their manao and their love oh wonderful that's wonderful yeah wait uh now that's part of your county is it knee-how yeah the county of kawaii and knee-how and knee-how oh wonderful great so now what you're getting ready for a flood tomorrow what do we how do you get ready what are you prepared for when everything is jambles yeah so now the prepared part like I said we'll assemble our first responder teams and assessment teams or how boots on the boots on the on the ground type of thinking that's a big big part the assessment teams have been deployed we're already managing I believe we have the food and supplies we have two locations that are people isolated from us can go to we have an evacuation and planning place helicopters coming in we have a bar it's going over to provide that part of our island other parts of the island the assessments will take place so we can get relief to the people who've experienced tragedy to their property and homes and at the same time working closely with all the partners right here federal state county I've been in communication with a representative from congressional team or senate team or local senate just to stand by because I wanted this umbrella of faith around us when we need help we can reach out and ask and they've been very willing to do what they can as we continue to good good data good information that could help us bring in resources to to get through this terrible time that we're experiencing here on kawaii and so now you have a problem of whatever it is from the mayor from the governor and then what does that mean so the governor's proclamation offers us support that we can actually go out and get resources instead of going through the normal process which takes longer because of the emergency part of it and then I did one as mayor for island two that our public work team our parks team our management team can go out and bring in resources contractors whatever we need to do to get the job done and then resources will come and then you can get reimbursed accordingly that opens that door and we're working closely with our congressional team now to get a presidential proclamation which will help us to get more funding and resources that way as we continue to assess the entire island so all of this the emergency support comes via these proclamations from our governmental leaders so the mayor did it I did it our governor and now we're looking for the presidential declaration to help us hopefully get the big picture is that with FEMA is that what the federal and and the military yes the FEMA federal emergency management association they're also deploying certain FEMA people coming in from DC into our EOC here to help us as side by side to help us and shepherd us to the right process in doing assessments and then once we get that documentation now they take that back and we can get support that way do now there is does that mean for you for you as a as a government entity but what about individuals whose homes are gone everything is like there's nothing to come back to what what happens that are doing assessments of all properties so once we get whatever the address is we'll do the assessment documented that that particular home will receive whatever support to help them rebuild because we saw we saw some places that look like mother nature just redesign the island and there's nothing to come back to yeah and those are the places that are like I said our assessment teams will be doing a thorough overview and then accordingly providing support back to the people that lost their property due to the store and that's the important part so that's the assessment team I was talking about well uh Mr. Mayor as always it's a pleasure to talk to you and for you to take your time out to to be with us uh hopefully I know we're going to ask you to come back but hopefully it won't be like this hopefully more good news the next time to make sure much of that if anybody has any questions or want to provide any additional support whoever's listening out there or you have any um want to give us a give us a telephone number or an email right here the operating center right here and the way 241-1800 241-1800 and from that point we have our team here receiving the calls and helping people to get the information they need or whatever help that is provided we can we can take a document so thank you for that well thank you for taking again taking time out to be with us and uh who we hope