Governor Green issues emergency proclamation, activates state resources for Hawaiʻi County

Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation that activated state resources for Hawaiʻi County as forecasts called for heavy rain and strong winds that forecasters said would begin Saturday and likely worsen Sunday into Monday. The governor’s proclamation states, "The emergency proclamation will remain in effect through Wednesday, Feb. 11, and may be extended if conditions warrant," and it activates state resources "in case of flooding, wing damage, or other impacts."

The proclamation specifically warned that preparations were urgent amid weekend activities, noting that "Super Bowl celebrations this weekend may distract residents from monitoring weather conditions." The National Weather Service in Honolulu flagged heavy rain and strong winds for the Big Island during the same period, setting the operational context for the state-level activation of assets to respond to flooding, wind damage, and related incidents.

At the county level, Mayor C. Kimo Alameda issued an Emergency Proclamation on Feb. 8 under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 127A-14(b), the Charter of the County of Hawaiʻi § 13-23, and Hawaiʻi County Code § 7-1-6(a. When the county proclamation was issued, National Weather Service products in effect included a Flood Watch and a High Wind Warning for the entire State of Hawaiʻi and a Winter Storm Warning for Big Island summits above 11,000 feet; those watches and warnings were expected to be in effect through Feb. 9.

County records show the county proclamation anticipated impacts including heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, flash floods, damaging winds, and heavy snow accumulations on the Big Island summits. After those NWS watches and warnings lapsed, Mayor Alameda posted a termination of the Feb. 8 emergency on Feb. 20 at 2:00 PM, writing in the termination proclamation, "I, C. KIMO ALAMEDA, Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, hereby terminate the Emergency Proclamation Relating to the February 2026 Severe Weather Event dated February 8, 2026 ... effective immediately, as I find that the local state of emergency is no longer necessary."

The sequence left state and county actions overlapping in February: the governor’s proclamation authorized statewide resources through Feb. 11 with the possibility of extension, while the county emergency that had invoked statutory authorities and NWS warnings was formally ended by Mayor Alameda on Feb. 20 once the immediate threats had waned. Officials tied the initial activations to specific hazards, flooding, wind damage, and winter conditions at high elevations, rather than to open-ended deployments, and the county termination cited the lapse of NWS products as the basis for standing down the local emergency.

With NWS watches and warnings no longer in effect as of the county termination, the official record shows the county judged immediate dangers reduced, while the governor’s proclamation language preserved the option to extend state support if further heavy rain or damaging winds returned.