Honolulu Council Slams City’s Delayed Evacuation Orders During North Shore Floods

Honolulu City Council members delivered sharp criticism of the city’s emergency management response during last month’s North Shore flooding, calling the delayed evacuation orders “unacceptable” and demanding a comprehensive review of disaster protocols.

During a heated hearing at Honolulu Hale on Wednesday, council members grilled Emergency Management Director Thomas Travis about why evacuation orders for Haleiwa and Waialua were issued four hours after flood waters began entering homes. The March 28 storm dumped over 10 inches of rain in six hours on the North Shore, flooding 140 homes and displacing over 300 residents.

“People were wading through chest-deep water before they ever got an alert on their phones,” said Council Member Esther Kiaaina, whose district includes the affected areas. “That is a systemic failure, not a weather problem.”

Travis acknowledged the delays, attributing them to downed communication infrastructure and confusion about jurisdiction between city and state emergency teams. He said the National Weather Service upgraded the flood warning to an emergency classification faster than city systems could process and distribute evacuation notices.

Council members were not satisfied. Council Chair Tommy Waters announced the formation of a special committee to investigate the response and recommend reforms before the next wet season. The committee will hold public hearings in Haleiwa and Waialua to gather testimony from affected residents.

The hearing also revealed that the city’s emergency alert system has not been updated since 2019 and lacks the ability to send geographically targeted alerts to specific neighborhoods. Travis estimated that upgrading to a modern system would cost approximately $4 million — a request the council indicated it would fast-track in the next budget cycle.