City and County of Honolulu News Releases

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Department of Emergency Management to assist with Haleiwa Elementary School Tsunami Evacuation Drill   (Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010) --- The Department of Emergency Management (DEM), DEM Reserve Corps volunteers and first  responders will assist Haleiwa Elementary School with their annual tsunami evacuation drill tomorrow morning at 8:00AM.                 The full scale drill will simulate a distant Tsunami Warning and evacuation in which the entire campus of 188 students and 45 faculty will leave the school, walk out of the evacuation zone and seek safety at the Joseph P Leong highway overpass approximately one-mile away.               "Oahu has 20 public and private schools in the evacuation zone and is imperative that each of the schools not only have an evacuation plan but also physically exercise that plan each year", said Melvin Kaku, director for the Department of Emergency Management.  "In Hawaii tsunamis are responsible for more casualties than any other natural disaster." "Preparedness drills like the one at Haleiwa Elementary School will ensure that our islands school children are safe during the next tsunami emergency".                  Drivers in the vicinity of Haleiwa Elementary School tomorrow morning should exercise caution as students leave the campus crossing both Haleiwa Road and Kamehameha Highways for the drill. --END--  Contact: John M. Cummings III Public Information Officer Department of Emergency Management (808) 723-8957  Office