National Disaster Preparedness Training Center

National Disaster Preparedness Training Center
Name	National Disaster Preparedness Training Center
Formation	1990s
Type	Training and research institute
Headquarters	Honolulu, Hawaii
Parent organization	University of Hawaiʻi System
Coordinates	21.3069°N 157.8583°W

National Disaster Preparedness Training Center The National Disaster Preparedness Training Center is a United States-based institute focused on disaster resilience, emergency response, and community preparedness. Located within the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus, the center provides applied training, policy guidance, and research support to jurisdictions across the United States and the Pacific Islands. The center engages with a wide range of partners from federal agencies to local tribal governments to strengthen capabilities for hazards such as tsunamis, hurricanes, wildfires, and pandemics.

History

The center traces its origins to efforts in the 1990s to improve regional resilience following events like the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, the 1992 Hurricane Iniki response in Hawaiʻi, and the increasing attention after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Early collaborations involved Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States Pacific Command, and the State of Hawaiʻi emergency management authorities. Over time the center expanded its scope through grants and cooperative agreements with the Department of Homeland Security, partnerships with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and research ties to institutions such as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of Washington, and the East-West Center.

Mission and Objectives

The center's mission aligns with national resilience frameworks promoted by the Homeland Security Council, aiming to reduce disaster risk, enhance community preparedness, and improve interagency coordination. Objectives include workforce development for first responders associated with organizations like the American Red Cross, capacity building for Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of the Marshall Islands governments, and advancing hazard modeling used by entities such as the United States Geological Survey and the National Weather Service.

Programs and Training Courses

Programs address multi-hazard preparedness with curricula informed by incidents such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Courses range from community-based disaster preparedness used by Hawaiian Homes Commission beneficiaries to advanced incident management aligned with the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System. The center offers exercises for emergency managers drawn from counties like Honolulu and Maui County, tribal emergency planners from the Hawaiian Kingdom movement constituencies, and personnel from regional partners including the Pacific Islands Forum.

Research and Publications

Research outputs include studies on tsunami inundation modeling co-developed with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and evacuation planning analyzed alongside scholars from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. Publications have addressed community resilience drawing on case studies from the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and resilience frameworks used by the World Bank. The center disseminates training manuals, situation reports, and policy briefs that inform practices at agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Collaborations span federal partners like the Department of Defense, the United States Coast Guard, and the National Guard Bureau, as well as academic partners including the University of Hawaiʻi System, the California State University system, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. International ties include exchange with the Japan Meteorological Agency, the Australian State Emergency Service, and Pacific governance bodies such as the Pacific Community. Nonprofit collaborations involve the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Natural Hazards Center, and indigenous organizations represented by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Facilities and Campuses

The primary campus is situated at Mānoa near facilities used by the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and shares laboratory and classroom space with the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. Field-training resources include coastal evacuation route mapping exercises along Oʻahu shorelines, simulation facilities used for mass-care drills with the Aloha Stadium complex, and remote island outreach coordinated with air and maritime logistics from Hickam Air Force Base and Barbers Point Harbor.

Impact and Notable Operations

Notable impacts include contributions to tsunami readiness after the 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake, support for humanitarian logistics during the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami relief, and training that informed local response during the 2020 Western United States wildfire season. The center's alumni network includes emergency managers who later served in roles within the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state emergency management agencies, and international organizations such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Category:Disaster preparedness organizations Category:Organizations based in Honolulu