Free Disaster preparedness workshops

Gladys Marrone, CEO of BIA-Hawaii and Lesley Gabrielle talk about workshops coming up.  BIA-Hawaii, a local non-profit organization, received a $250,000 federal OSHA grant to conduct Disaster Response & Preparedness Training in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific Islands.

• These funds were made available throughout the nation as a result of the catastrophic 2018 storm season. This is a special allocation of funds (in response to the 2018 storms)..

 Hawaii Trainings: biahawaii.org/disaster-response   

• Designed for contractors, workers, employees, employers, first responders, and volunteers and is open to anyone who wants to be better prepared for natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis.
• Held throughout the state the week of February 4th-8th, with the Kauai training on February 25th (due to scheduling).
• These classes are FREE and led by a safety certified, expert instructor.

o   Mon Feb 4: Maui: 8a-12p and 1p-5p

o   Wednesday Feb 6: Oahu 8a-12p and 1p-5p

o   Thurs Feb 7: Hilo: 8a-12p

o   Fri Feb 8: Kona: 8a-12p

o   Mon Feb 25: Kauai: 8a-12p

Although we’ve been (fortunately) spared the last many years, Hawaii tropical storms are predicted to increase by about 15% per decade (source), we’re likely to see a greater need for disaster response and preparedness efforts.

• Participants can expect to have a better understanding of disaster response challenges, safe work plans, how the DHS/FEMA National Incident Management System (NIMS) works, responder deployment resources, hazard identification and control, and more.
• It includes the following modules:

o   Preparation & Work Planning: preparation for disasters and safety during response.

o   Incident Management: understanding incident management and the impacts of traumatic-incident stress. It will also cover responder resiliency resources available.

o   Worker Protection During High-Hazard and/or Unique Emergency Operations: protecting workers during high-hazards and/or unique emergency operations during response.

Additional Trainings: biahawaii.org/disaster-response  

• Three sessions were held on Guam to great interest; we anticipated 60 participants and had 118 total attendees!
• The training will be held in CNMI (Saipan, Tinian, and Rota) and Guam in March.
• Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) and the Maui County Office of Economic Development have support Hawaii Trainings.
• This training has been made possible by an OSHA grant.