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EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION RELATING TO THE TSUNAMI EVENT RESULTING FROM THE EARTHQUAKE OFF  THE COAST OF KAMCHATKA RUSSIA 

          By the authority vested in me as the Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi (County) by the Constitution and laws of the State of Hawaiʻi, and by the Charter and ordinances of the County of Hawaiʻi, to prepare for and respond to emergencies and disasters, I, C. KIMO ALAMEDA, Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi, hereby determine, designate, and proclaim as follows: 

          WHEREAS, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 127A, provides for the establishment of County organizations for emergency management with the Mayor having direct responsibility and authority over emergency management within the County of Hawaiʻi; and

          WHEREAS, HRS Chapter 127A, and Hawai‘i County Code (HCC) Chapter 7, establish a Civil Defense Agency within the County of Hawai‘i and prescribes its powers, duties, and responsibilities; and

          WHEREAS, HRS § 127A-14(b) empowers the Mayor to declare the existence of a local state of emergency in the County by proclamation if the Mayor finds that an emergency or a disaster has occurred or that there is imminent danger or threat of an emergency or a disaster in any portion of the County, as those terms are defined in HRS § 127A-2; and

          WHEREAS, the Charter of the County of Hawaiʻi (CCH) § 13-23 and HCC § 7-1-6(a) also empower the Mayor to declare a state of disaster or emergency by proclamation; and  

          WHEREAS, the National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (NWS PTWC) issued a bulletin at 1:33PM HST on July 29, 2025, that an earthquake occurred off the east coast of Kamchatka Russia (52.2 North 160.0 East) at 1:25PM HST on July 29, 2025, with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0;

          WHEREAS, the NWS PTWC issued a tsunami watch for the State of Hawaiʻi effective at 1:33PM HST based on the available data that a tsunami may have been generated by the earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas far from the epicenter with the estimated earliest arrival of the first tsunami wave being 7:17PM HST on July 29, 2025; and

          WHEREAS, the NWS PTWC issued a tsunami warning for the State of Hawaiʻi at 2:43PM and upgraded the earthquake assessment to an 8.7 magnitude stating that a tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along the coastlines of all islands in the State of Hawaiʻi and result in extensive flooding and damage hours after the initial wave; and

          NOW, THEREFORE, I, C. KIMO ALAMEDA, Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, do hereby proclaim and declare, effective July 29, 2025, that a local state of emergency exists under HRS § 127A-14(b), CCH § 13-23, and HCC § 7-1-6(a), as I find that based on the conditions stated above an emergency or disaster is occurring or there is an imminent danger or threat of an emergency or a disaster in the County of Hawaiʻi as contemplated by HRS § 127A-14(b); and

          I FURTHER DECLARE that it is necessary to invoke the following:

               I. Invocation of Laws.  Pursuant to HRS § 127A-12(c)(17), the Mayor may take any and all steps necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of HRS Chapter 127A, including the additional powers in HRS § 127A-13(b) which may only be exercised during an emergency period.  I hereby authorize and invoke the following powers related to emergency management, if not already in effect:

                    Pursuant to HRS §§ 127A-12(a)(5), 127A-13(b)(3)-(5), and HCC § 7-1-6(d), the Administrator of the County of Hawai’i Civil Defense Agency, or his or her delegate, is directed to take appropriate actions to direct or control the following, as may be necessary for emergency management:

                             A. Alerts, warnings, notifications, activations; 
                             B. Warnings and signals for alerts, and any type of warning device, system, or method to be used in connection therewith; 
                             C. Partial or full mobilization of personnel, in advance of, or in response to, an actual emergency or disaster; 
                             D. The conduct of civilians and the movement and cessation of movement of pedestrians and vehicular traffic during, before, and after alerts, emergencies, or disasters; 
                             E. Shut off water mains, gas mains, or electric power connections, or suspend other services; 
                             F. The mandatory evacuation of the civilian population; and
                             G. To the extent necessary to prevent hoarding, waste, or destruction of materials, supplies, commodities, accommodations, facilities, and services, to effectuate equitable distribution thereof, or to establish priorities therein as the public welfare may require; to investigate; and any other county law to the contrary notwithstanding, to regulate or prohibit, by means of licensing, rationing, or otherwise, the storage, transportation, use, possession, maintenance, furnishing, sale, or distribution thereof, and any business or any transaction related thereto.

                   Pursuant to HRS § 127A-12(c)(11), each public utility, or any person owning, controlling, or operating a critical infrastructure facility, is hereby required to protect and safeguard the public utility’s or the person’s property, or to provide for such protection and safeguarding; and provide for the protection and safeguarding of all critical infrastructure and key resources; provided that the protection and safeguarding may include the regulation or prohibition of public entry thereon, or the permission of the entry upon terms and conditions as I may prescribe.

                   Pursuant to HRS § 127A-12(c)(14), CCH § 13-21, and HCC § 7-1-5(a), all County agencies and officers shall cooperate with and extend their services, materials, and facilities as I may request.

                   That the Director of Finance administer the disaster and emergency fund in accordance with CCH § 10-17.



          I FURTHER DECLARE, that this Emergency Proclamation Relating to the Tsunami Event Resulting From the Earthquake Off the Coast Of Kamchatka Russia shall terminate automatically sixty (60) days after its issuance, unless extended or terminated by a separate or supplementary proclamation.   


        Done at the County of Hawaiʻi,
        this 29 day of July 2025

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