Challenges to maintaining disaster relief supply chains in island communities: disaster preparedness and response in Honolulu, Hawai’i

Due to global warming and rising sea levels, Honolulu, Hawai’i—a city on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean—is becoming more vulnerable to climate disasters. This article utilizes a mixed-method approach to investigate the challenges of maintaining disaster relief supply chains in the face of the emerging risks to Honolulu. We conduct eighteen in-depth interviews with key emergency management stakeholders to understand current approaches to supply chain risk management. Based on the research, three main challenges influence disaster preparedness in Hawai’i. First, the physical location of the island and the spatial distribution of risk, assets, and capabilities supporting emergency relief present large, unusual constraints not found in other jurisdictions. Second, the challenges of supply chain management, planning, communications and coordination are exacerbated during disruptions and disaster events. Unlike other states, with neighboring, contiguous jurisdictions, there are severe limitations to mutual aid and assistance from outside sources. Third, our research has also identified cultural challenges associated with social, political, and economic development and change. Stronger institutional collaboration both within the state and beyond its boundaries are key to increased supply chain resilience and effective response and recovery from disasters. We conduct social network analysis focusing on measures of density, degree, betweenness, and centrality to better understand the status and gaps in institutional collaboration. The social network analysis reveals that the current levels of collaboration are relatively low with significant gaps between government agencies and the private sector, as well as limited vertical collaborations with respect to supply chain management between federal, state and local partners. There is a need for stronger leadership with deeper engagement across stakeholders. A pathway forward includes: (1) vulnerability analyses focused on private sector supply chain management and public sector transport hubs, networks, and facilities, (2) exercises and training on emergency supply chain management, and (3) longer-term actions to support sustainability, self-sufficiency, local production, and community resilience. Our research is relevant not just to Hawai’i and other island and isolated communities but also to communities threatened by supply chain disruptions.