Honolulu City Council wants overdue tsunami after-action report from DEM

06.25.2026

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Nearly a year after the tsunami warning that sent thousands scrambling and created massive traffic gridlock across Oʻahu, the Honolulu City Council is asking the city’s Department of Emergency Management to release its long-awaited after-action report.

Council Chair Tommy Waters sent a letter this week to DEM Director Randy Collins, asking why the report has not been released despite a commitment made to the Council in April.

During an April 29 Executive Management Committee hearing, Collins told councilmembers the report had been completed by a contractor and would be released within 30 days.

In his letter, Waters noted that 56 days have now passed since that hearing.

“As you are aware, the Council is committed to the safety of our residents and to improving our emergency response to natural disasters and other events,” Waters wrote. “Reviewing the actions taken in past emergencies is critical to improving future responses.”

The letter also asks DEM to provide a timeline for after-action reports related to the March 2026 Kona Low storms, which caused severe flooding across Oʻahu’s North Shore and prompted complaints from residents about delayed response efforts and a lack of resources in the immediate aftermath.

Waters said after-action reports are essential for identifying what worked, what didn’t and what changes need to be made before the next emergency.

“The whole idea of an after-action report is to learn from our mistakes,” Waters said. “The tsunami warning was a big deal, especially in my district in Waikīkī. There was gridlock, no way to get out, people were abandoning their cars on Ala Wai Boulevard and running for safety. How do we make that better?”

He also questioned why the report has taken so long, given that other major disasters have produced reviews more quickly.

“In Lahaina, where people died, that was a massive thing, that [preliminary] after-action report was completed in six months,” Waters said. “We’ve been waiting for over a year to get an after-action report on the tsunami warning, where no one died.”

“The purpose of the after-action report is to ensure we’re stepping up and improving our response after every disaster or potential disaster,” Council member Matt Weyer said, whose district includes North Shore. “Every day we wait, that’s one day of lost time that could have better protected our community.”

During the April committee hearing, Collins acknowledged the report had been completed by the contractor but had not yet been published.

“We do have that report,” Collins said at the time. “It has been completed by the contractor… I’m sure we’ll be able to release it in the next 30 days.”

In a statement to KHON2, the Department of Emergency Management said the report is still undergoing its final review.

“The Department of Emergency Management is finalizing its Tsunami After Action Report. The report is currently undergoing a final review to ensure the information is accurate, complete, and provides meaningful guidance for City leadership, partner agencies, and the public. The release timeline was extended as the department shifted resources to respond to the Kona Low storms while the report was in its final stages of development.  DEM recognizes the public’s interest in the report. To preserve the integrity of the review process, the department will not discuss its findings, recommendations, or other details until the report is finalized and publicly released. Once the final review is complete, DEM will release the report and be available to answer questions regarding its findings, recommendations, corrective actions, and implementation timeline.”

Waters said the city needs the report now, especially with forecasters predicting another active hurricane season with El Niño.

“If we haven’t gotten the tsunami warning report, how can we rely on getting the Kona storm report in a timely manner?” Waters said. “We’re going to keep the pressure on and get that done as soon as possible.”

The Council also wants the tsunami report to help shape future emergency planning, including evacuation plans, stream monitoring, emergency alerts and other improvements before the next major disaster strikes.

This statement was originally published on KHON 2.

Reporter: Nikki Schenfield | ARTICLE