Emergency Shelter

Construction Criteria

• HAR 3-180-52  SECTION 423 State- and County-owned public high occupancy buildings

• ICC 500 - Storm Shelter- Summary Presentation

• Honolulu BARA Introduction 

Communications

1. 4/23/25 Thank you for your call! Confirming we received this email and it’s currently sitting with our Planning Department for review and response. Our Planning Section Chief, Tara Sabado will be reviewing. If you need to follow up in the future, you may call her line at 808.270.7284 or email the MEMA.planning@co.maui.hi.us address which I’ve cc’d. - James (Tara.Sabado@mauicounty.gov)

2. Meeting on 10/29/25 with Tara

Gap in Shelter Capacity

Mahalo for reaching out regarding emergency sheltering considerations for the planned school facility. MEMA has reviewed the area using current GIS products, and I am sharing a brief overview to support your preliminary planning.

Attached is a map developed by our GIS Analyst. The light-blue outlined polygons represent the Genasys Evacuation Zones for this region. As shown, this district has only one existing emergency shelter, despite the area having the potential to hold more than 10,000 individuals during PM peak hours. That shelter’s capacity is approximately 50 people, which creates a significant sheltering gap even under current conditions.

The lavender-shaded area on the map identifies the Waiʻale Road Extension and associated development corridor. Any population increases or new development in that zone will further widen the current sheltering discrepancy, which we already consider substantial.

From MEMA’s perspective, integrating emergency sheltering capability into your proposed school design would be a forward-leaning and community-focused solution. This type of planning is exactly the kind of resilience-based thinking we encourage among all County and State partners, especially in rapidly growing regions of Maui.

If you require a more formal memorandum, additional data points, or a written justification keyed to specific planning thresholds, please let me know. I wanted to provide this initial feedback before the close of day, and I am happy to prepare more detailed documentation to support your needs.

Please advise on how you would like us to proceed.

Mahalo nui,

P. Kono Davis

Deputy Administrator

Maui Emergency Management Agency

County of Maui MEMA

1. Website 

2. MEMA Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP) 

3. Administrator Amos, Deputy Administrator Kono Davis, peter.davis@co.maui.hi.us, (808) 270-7341  

4. Planning Director, Tara Sabado, tara.sabado@mauicounty.gov, 808.270.7284 

5. Secretary Nicole Amoral, Nicole.R.Amoral@co.maui.hi.us, (808) 270-7285

HIEMA

• HIEMA Website 

FEMA

• Best Available Refuge Area Checklist 

• Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes P-361 

IECC

• ICC 500 Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters

References