Student-led Molokaʻi hazard mitigation report project

Comprehensive Student-led Interagency Hazard Mitigation Team Report for Molokaʻi Island from Repeated Disasters

Support a professor-led and student-led project to produce a comprehensive hazard mitigation report documenting the physical and mental health impacts of repeated disasters on Molokaʻi island, whose residents are described as underserved and underrepresented without a formal seat of government. Maui County, with three islands and limited staff, has limited funding, bandwidth and capacity to document damages and impacts to Molokaiʻi and its vulnerable communities. The report would document short-term and long-term impacts of five disasters this past year — Kona Low Storms 1 (March 10 - 16) and 2 (March 19 - 24, 2026, continuous heavy rainfall, flooding, elevated coastal conditions, saturated soils and watersheds, flooded homes), followed by Hurricanes Lala (August 2026) and Lowell and Nolo (September 2026) — compounded by the Lahaina Wildfire, 2023, and COVID pandemic, 2020+, including permanent displacement of kupuna and ohana from East Maui and the Kapaakea Homestead community area, breached cesspools flowing into the ʻIcebox" ocean, and recovery constrained to two container shipments per week during normal times. The project would teach students to create a technical document, guided by professors, professionals, and kupuna, as exposure, training, and entry into a disaster management professional field, in partnership with the Maui County Planning Department, Office of Recovery, and Office of ʻOiwi, the University of Hawaiʻi Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (Dr. Karl Kim and students), the North Carolina State University Coastal Resilience Center (Dr. Gavin Smith and students), the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Dr. Cassandra Davis and students), UH Sea Grant College Program, UH Maui College, and local nonprofit organizations. Funds are sought for up-to-12 students and three professors for travel, Molokaʻi housing, and per diem for deployment of at least three weeks each, staggered, on Molokaʻi for interviews and documentation, plus report writing time, conducted post field work. Funds are sought to provide compensation and stipends for all kupuna involved. Submitted by James Buika, County of Maui Planning Dept. 808-270-6271.