Kauai disaster preparedness fair aims to boost storm readiness

Kauai households that still need go-bags, backup power plans or a clear family communication strategy will have a free chance to tighten those gaps at a preparedness fair in Līhue. The Kauai Community Disaster Preparedness Fair, also listed as the Kauai Disaster Preparedness and Awareness event, is set for Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center, 4475 Nuhou St.

The event is being promoted as a community emergency preparedness gathering built to strengthen Kauai’s readiness for natural disasters and other emergencies through practical education and direct connections to the organizations people depend on before, during and after a disaster. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency calendar also lists the fair for the same date and time.

That local push lands at a time when state and county emergency managers continue to focus on hurricanes, tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes and wildfires. Kauai County Emergency Management Agency says its mission is to protect lives and property by coordinating with government and the private sector in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. County planning tools already available to residents include shelter status, potential shelter lists, dam safety maps, reservoir data and flood-hazard tools, resources that become urgent when roads close, streams rise or evacuation orders come quickly.

The fair also reflects the work of Kauai VOAD, part of the Hawaii VOAD system, which says its mission is to foster cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Current Kauai COAD members listed online include Catholic Charities Hawaii, Project Vision Hawaii, Latter-day Saint Charities and Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. Kauai COAD leadership is listed as Scott Bacon, chair, and Padraic Gallagher, vice chair.

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has helped push the event into the public eye because the utility sees preparedness as more than an emergency slogan. KIUC was formed in November 2002, making it one of America’s newest electric cooperatives, and it has identified tropical cyclones, wildfires, floods and climate change as top disaster-prevention concerns. A 2024 report said the utility was replacing some wood poles with fiberglass-reinforced polymer, a reminder that resilience on Kauai is measured not just in storm warnings, but in whether power, communications and recovery systems hold when the next emergency arrives.