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HONOLULU - During the early morning hours, on Friday, Aug. 8, Iselle reached the picturesque shores of Hawaii. Fearing the worst, many residents of Hawaii emptied supermarket shelves of water and canned goods.
Downgraded to a tropical storm just before making landfall on the island of Hawaii, Iselle produced maximized sustained winds of 60 mph, with wind gust reaching as high as 96 mph in the Mauna Kea area of the island. Fortunately, the mountainous terrain of the Big Island was too much for Iselle. The storm lost much of its strength, but not before taking its toll on the largest of the islands. Amidst heavy rain, the wind, and the invasive albizia trees falling, damaged homes, downed power and phone lines, damaged telecommunications towers, and left roads blocked by debris.
Those living in rural areas affected by the storm, emerged to find themselves with damaged property, no power, no communications, and with no roadways open to obtain additional supplies. Despite the significant damage, it wasn’t long before state and county assets, including a joint task force of Army and Air National Guard members, were on the ground assisting with recovery efforts.
During the week leading up to Iselle, many state agencies and organizations began preparing for the possibility of a large recovery effort. Under the direction of Maj. Gen. Darryll D.M Wong, the Hawaii Guard began preparations for a mobilization in support of state and local agency relief efforts. Wong occupies a unique position as the state’s adjutant general; he is responsible for ensuring the Guard is trained and ready to respond to state and global Department of Defense missions. Wong is also the director of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA, formerly known as State Civil Defense), a role that requires him to ensure those same Guard resources are ready to respond in the event of state emergencies. Though often focused on training Soldiers and Airmen for their federal mission, National Guard leadership routinely conducts alert and accountability exercises to ensure optimal response times should disaster strike in Hawaii.
As state and local agencies began the process of assessing the damage caused by Iselle, Guardsmen were mobilized and immediately began conducting support operations. Soldiers of the 227th Engineer Company immediately began clearing roadways of fallen trees and debris. Army aviation assets were made available to civilian authorities to assist with damage assessment. Airmen from of the Hawaii Air National Guard’s Hilo based 291st Combat Communications Squadron continue to conduct health and welfare checks, driving door to door to deliver much needed drinking water and ice, and check on the overall health and safety of residents.
Due to concerns of theft and looting, Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 299th Cavalry are conducting presence patrols to deter looting from unoccupied or damaged homes. Guardsmen are not operating in a law enforcement capacity, but they are a force multiplier to civilian law enforcement agencies. In addition to deterring crime, their patrols have assisted with damage assessment. Guard Soldiers are also providing security at the disaster assistance recovery centers (DARC) set up by the HI-EMA.
The support provided by the Guard has not been limited to ongoing operations on the island of Hawaii. The Hawaii Air Guard’s 204 Airlift Squadron flew C-17 Globemaster III provided logistical support, assisting with the delivery of ice to and generators the island of Hawaii. Guard public affairs Soldiers and Airmen have been utilized to assist with the dissemination of information, and several Guardsmen have been activated on Oahu to assist with the sourcing and accountability of all Guardsmen currently assisting with storm recovery efforts.
Hawaii Guardsman continues to support disaster relief activities in Hawaii County. After one week of recovery efforts, there are still approximately 150 Soldiers and Airmen supporting storm relief activities.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.31.2014 17:14 |
| Story ID: | 140867 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 165 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Hawaii Guardsmen assist with Hurricane Iselle recovery, by SSG Christopher Martens, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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