Planning for Volcanic Activity in Hawaii

In 2018, eruptions from the Kīlauea volcano caused widespread
devastation to Hawaii's Big Island. It decimated more than 700
structures and uprooted more than 3,000 people. Resilience
Roundtable host Jim Schwab, FAICP, talks with Douglas Le, AICP,
disaster recovery officer with the ‎County of Hawaii, to learn
about the particularities of volcanic eruptions — a natural
hazard few planners deal with.


Douglas explains their unique geological nature, but he also
describes concerns of postdisaster recovery that will be familiar
to planners everywhere, such as helping residents who lost their
homes get access to the funding they need to rebuild.


Guiding much of the county's recovery work is the Kīlauea
Recovery and Resilience Plan, the overarching strategy that was
released in late 2020 and features in Jim and Douglas's
discussion. Throughout the conversation, Douglas underscores the
balance that planners must strike to help provide immediate
relief to residents while looking to the future, to make the
entire community as strong as possible.


Episode URL:
https://planning.org/podcast/planning-for-volcanic-activity-in-hawaii/