海角大神

As hurricane Julio heads away from聽Hawaii Monday, it appears that the tropical island聽state has dodged serious impact from a threatened double storm hit. Tropical storm Iselle聽鈥� downgraded from a hurricane 鈥� landed on the Big Island Friday, dropping heavy rains and knocking out power for thousands.

But by Friday evening, tourists were back on the beaches and the only聽curveball聽in Saturday鈥檚 state election was the surprise upset of Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic primary. By Monday, Julio鈥檚 possible impact had weakened considerably, and the only聽minor fallout appears to be the unseasonable appearance of hot, muggy temperatures in Julio鈥檚 wake.

But while the island is quickly returning to a normal vacationer鈥檚 paradise, there are important lessons from the state鈥檚聽brush with unprecedented聽back-to-back storms.

鈥淢ost important lesson is that these sorts of events can in fact happen,鈥� says Mark Paquette, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, based in State College, Pa.

Despite its prime tropical island location,聽Hawaii has been remarkably free of major storms. The last time a hurricane hit was 22 years ago, and the Big Island has not recorded a hurricane hit since its official weather tracking began in the 1950s. 鈥淪o the important message is that storms can happen anywhere,鈥� he says,聽and it鈥檚 important not to become complacent.

In fact, Hawaii conducts annual emergency drills across the islands. Save the Children gives the island state high marks for being one of only 22 states to have a comprehensive K-12 disaster preparedness program.聽

Hawaii has a high likelihood for multiple types of disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and even volcanic eruptions, points out Rich Bland, Save the Children鈥檚 national director of policy and advocacy. 鈥淭he state was right to insist on 鈥榤ulti-hazard鈥� plans for all schools, and comprehensive emergency plans for child care,鈥� he says via e-mail, adding that聽many other states could learn from Hawaii.聽

鈥淢ore and more, communities around the country are vulnerable to a multitude of emergencies,鈥� notes Mr. Bland. They need to prepare accordingly, he says, including running very different types of drills for different scenarios.聽鈥淥ne size does NOT fit all,鈥� he adds. 鈥淎nd Hawaii could teach others that fact.鈥�

The threat of such unheard-of storms in the tropical paradise spotlights the importance of even broader preparedness, says Karl Rabago, the director of the Pace Law School Energy and Climate Center in White Plains, N.Y.聽鈥淭he big risk here is confusing climate and weather,鈥� he says via e-mail.聽鈥淭he weather was not as bad as we predicted,鈥� he says, but notes that聽overall,聽鈥淭he climate is getting really bad 鈥� two back-to-back storms!鈥�

Longer-term聽changes and preparations for both climate change and bad weather can bring twin benefits of 鈥渋ncreased reliability, reduced pollution, reduced dependence on imported fuels.鈥� And these are a win-win that should be part of聽any larger preparedness strategy, he adds.

听础 Maui vacationer relates just how prepared Hawaii was:

鈥淭he advance preparations went off flawlessly on Maui. Supplies in stores were constantly restocked, no mean thing given that most goods flow between the islands on barges,鈥� says Char Miller, a professor at Pomona University via e-mail.

Professor Miller chatted with the pilot of a container-carrying vessel just before Iselle plowed into the Big Island, and the pilot聽was matter-of-fact about maintaining the supply chain.

The emergency preparations in the end were not reality tested, as Iselle dealt only a glancing blow to Maui, Miller notes.

鈥淏y Friday afternoon the skies were clearing and people were swimming, snorkeling, and surfing in the bathtub-warm Pacific,鈥� he says.听础 further reflection of the calm on the islands was that the political primary elections went off without a hitch during this period, he adds. Only two precincts were shut down in the aftermath of Iselle. 鈥淎ll this a reflection of careful disaster management in the post superstorm Sandy era,鈥� he adds.聽