Public security tries In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, a new vigilance is on patrol in Hawaii.
to stay ahead
of danger
Infrastructure staffers have tested
terrorism drills for over 2 yearsBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comThere are fewer public entrances to hospitals.
More security guards are visible.
Police, firemen and postal workers make sure to lock their vehicles when they walk away, even for a minute.
But there's much more going on out of sight.
Hawaii's infrastructure of transportation, water supply, electricity, and other essential services are being shored up, double-checked and given a back-up plan. For security reasons, officials do not want to be too specific, but want to assure the public that they are on the job.
"Right now we're taking a look at strengthening our response at all levels of government and in many cases with the private sector," said Ed Teixeira, state Civil Defense vice director. "It's a challenge and I take it very seriously."
Teixeira emphasized that Hawaii has been preparing for the potential of a terrorist strike for more than two years. If there never is one, much of the planning can be used for natural disasters such as a hurricane or tsunami.
"We have been very careful in what we told the public up to now," Teixeira said. "We had to work very hard behind the scenes to get prepared. We are prepared and are going to continue to be prepared."
In May 1999, emergency personnel trained with a mock chemical terrorist attack at Aloha Stadium.
Last spring, 145 emergency response personnel from across the state participated in a two-day, anti-terrorism exercise at the Hawaii Convention Center. Preparations for May's Asian Development Bank meeting in Honolulu also tested emergency procedures that would be activated if a terrorist attack happened here, he said.
The safety net includes the National Guard, all fire and police departments, the FBI, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the military, Teixeira said. Since 1999, these groups have been meeting at least quarterly.
And the planning includes protecting essential services. For example:
>> Honolulu Board of Water Supply says its underground aquifers are much less vulnerable to tampering than an open reservoir, said Donna Kiyosaki, deputy manager. Since Sept. 11, there have been concerns raised regarding chemical or biological attacks.
"We already had in place an alarm system so we can tell if anyone is trying to get into any of our facilities -- pumping sites, tank sites, or well sites," Kiyosaki said. "And since the events of Sept. 11, we've stepped up visual monitoring of sites."
Additional security measures will be added and, Kiyosaki noted, frequent water quality tests would reveal anything out of the ordinary.
Experts say any threat to public water supplies remains largely remote and differs widely from the apocalyptic vision driving people's worries. In fact, experts on germ warfare say, causing widespread health problems by contaminating a public water supply verges on impossible.
"The water threat is mostly science fiction," said Richard Spertzel, a microbiologist who formerly led the U.N.'s biological-weapons inspection teams in Iraq. Fears of attacks on water supplies are "an overreaction" to the horrors in Washington and New York, he said.
>> At Hawaiian Electric, company vice president Chuck Freedman said, "We didn't begin Sept. 12 looking at the security of our systems. We've been practicing it for many years. We're an island and can't depend on anybody else, so security has always been an issue. That's why we have generation reserves, more than adequate power reserves, that we can put on line any time we lose a large generating unit ... whether by an act of nature or an act of man."
Still, Oahu-based HECO and its affiliates on Maui and the Big Island have stepped up security in obvious and hidden ways, Freedman said.
>> At Verizon, "no new security measures, we are just tightening what we already had in place," spokeswoman Ann Nishida said. Backup electricity generation and alternate ways to route phone calls are already in place, she said. State Civil Defense backs that up at its headquarters in Diamond Head crater with satellite phones and e-mail communication.
>> Since the terrorist attacks, there has been a "200-fold" increase in calls to the state Transportation Department about suspicious behavior or items at airports, harbors or highways. And the tips are checked out, said department spokeswoman Marilyn Kali. "They can call us. People need to be vigilant."
Teixeira said Civil Defense is ready to respond quickly to any emergency.
"If a potential or actual terrorist incident occurred in Hawaii, once we had an assessment of what it was, then we'd warn the public," he said.
Teixeira said he will not hesitate to employ the Civil Defense sirens. That's a signal to "stop, turn on a TV set or radio, and listen to the instructions," he said.
(The regular monthly test of the sirens will occur at 11:45 a.m. Monday.)
"We're now in a new era for all of us," Teixeira said. "This was something we thought we could interdict, but unfortunately hit us in a horrific way. We want everything to go back to normal, but the threat is still here."
So, in addition to law enforcement and specialists, the public is being asked to keep a lookout.
"Be vigilant, observant of what's going on around you," said George Burnett, state Civil Defense telecommunications officer.
Suspicious behavior may include someone in an employees-only area who's not an employee or an unattended box or package in a public place.
Any suspect activity should be reported to police or the FBI, Burnett said.
At post offices, utility companies and government offices, employees are being encouraged to report anything out of the ordinary.
