Date: 7/26/20

To: Internal
From: Wesley Gore
Subject: Hawaii Hurricane Relief
Action Required: If you require an action, say what it is and when you need it by.
Distribution List: Direct Relief Staff

Hurricane Douglas is a category 1 hurricane headed for the coast of Maui. Currently winds are
around 85 mph with gusts of 105 mph and is moving WNW at around 16 mph. There will at least
be 6-8 inches of rainfall with potentially as high as 12-15 inches. This could cause severe flash
flooding creating an incredibly dangerous situation for people who may live at lower sections of
the terrain. We need to work with local and state governments to prepare the citizens of Maui to
mitigate property damage and create an evacuation system should the situation get worse.

Preparation for Flash Floods

Ways in which damage and danger can help be prevented:
 Installing check valves into sewer lines to prevent flood water from backing up out of
drains
 Elevating electronics, furnaces, and other valuables or easily water damaged items
 Use plastic bags, containers, or other waterproof items to protect valuable papers and
documents
 Utilize applications such as Adobe Scan, Dropbox, and Google Drive to back up
important documents to cloud storage
 Help families check their insurance to make sure they hold flood insurance as well as
help them obtain it should they not
 Provide waterproof bags which can be used for holding medication, water, and food
in case of emergency
 Ensure families know in the event of necessary evacuation they have and know where
they can go to for safety and the best and safest way to get there
 Disperse emergency floatation items to people living in low setting areas
 Disperse directions for emergency medical treatment for common injuries

Rolling Out Aid

No amount of aid is useful if people are not aware of how to access it. For this we will be
working with local government to air television advertisements, as well as social media ad
campaigns, and having officials urging people to our cite or to contact us via email or phone. We
will also be obtaining phone numbers of elderly citizens, people with illness, and low-income
households so as to contact them directly and offer assistance in any way possible as these
groups will be at much higher risk. We will be using money provided by the government and
donations to have volunteers visit and deliver emergency supplies such as bags, containers, rope,
medical supplies, water, and plastic wrap and well as helping service though with difficulties in
elevating heavy objects and tying down large possessions. We will also be relying on volunteer
support to help run call centers for instructing people on how to download and use applications
to back up documents and photos, locate their nearest emergency shelter, and check for flood
insurance.

COVID-19
Special care needs to be taken in light of the current pandemic. Distributing soap and hand
sanitizer to local shelters as well as proper PPE in the event of overcrowding at these shelters.
There is an inherent fear associated with the possible increase in transmission which could occur
due to the possibility it may not be possible to entirely follow CDC guidelines in every instance.

Funding
We will be receiving some aid from the government; however, the bulk of our spending is going
to have to be from donations. We will have a portal on our website for donating directly to this
relief effort. We will need to use social media to really spread awareness of how people can find
our portal as well as why they should donate. To do this we will need a team of volunteers to
conduct outreach to accounts with large social media influence with talking points on how and
why people should donate.

Conclusion
Douglas is not the biggest hurricane we have seen in recent years, but it will be impacting Maui
which could lead to billions of dollars’ worth of damage. There is also the fear of possible
increased COVID-19 transmission which could cripple local hospitals dealing potential injuries
from Hurricane Douglas. Our best bet is to prepare people ahead of time so they can stay isolated
in their homes unless it becomes absolutely necessary for them to evacuate.

Recommendations
For our efforts to be effective we must:
 Conduct proper outreach to large influencers and run ads to direct people to our cite
 Bring on volunteers to run call centers, perform deliveries, and aid local citizens that
are either disabled, sick, or elderly
 Inform people of the possible hazards associated which increased COVID-19 spread
 Have officials point people towards how to reach us

To make these efforts effective we recommend reaching out to local college students and shelters
to potentially recruit volunteers. It also may be effective to urge all staff and volunteers to spread
awareness within their own social media groups.

References
https://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2020/07/26/daily-weather-forecast-hurricane-douglas-
landfall-hawaii-storm-surge-winds-flooding-rain.cnn
http://www.gardner-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/530/Preparedness-Guide-For-Floods-PDF?
bidId=

https://www.ready.gov/floods