The County of Hawai’i is preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Douglas in the Central Pacific region later this week.

Federal, State and County agencies, along with private entities, met on Thursday at the Civil Defense Agency’s Emergency Operations Center for an orientation briefing.

Mayor Harry Kim said the session was aimed at getting staff familiar with the background regarding the storm, which was approaching the 140-degree longitude boundary into the Central Pacific.

According to the National Weather Service, the earliest reasonable onset of effects on Hawai’i Island will be sometime early Sunday morning.

Please make sure your family’s emergency plans are in place.  For further information, please go to Civil Defense’s webpage on Emergency Preparedness at https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/civil-defense/emergency-preparedness .

The National Weather Service has not yet issued any advisories on this storm, but Civil Defense will keep the community informed through regular updates as the storm progresses. Civil Defense will be on 24-hour duty starting Saturday or sooner if necessary, to keep round-the-clock watch on Hurricane Douglas.

In the meantime, the County continues its vigilance to protect the community from the spread of COVID-19, and appreciates the public’s cooperation with CDC guidelines to stay healthy and safe.

For further information, please call Civil Defense at 935-0031.