LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — Most of the 102 victims of 2023’s Maui wildfires were senior citizens, prompting Gov. Josh Green and Maui Mayor Richard Bissen on Friday to honor kupuna at a gathering with food and fellowship.
“In this moment it’s really about togetherness,” Green told those at the Lahaina Civic Center gym ahead of an eggs, bacon and sausage brunch. “Know how much we love you.”
Age, lack of mobility and isolation are among the many factors that put senior citizens at greater risk during disasters such as fires, said Craig Gima, communications director of AARP-Hawai‘i.
“Two-thirds of the 102 (victims) were 60 and over,” Gima said. “Fires are especially dangerous for kupuna, 2.6 percent more deadly, and especially for those 80 and older. They’re more frail and have more trouble moving. And for every age group there’s a lack of planning. Very few people have a fire plan. Most people don’t.”
Some 300 people registered for Friday’s brunch, which included music, hula and bingo, but Maui County officials prohibited journalists from interviewing or photographing kupuna.
Green told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he hopes the gathering represents broader efforts encouraging senior citizens to interact more with friends, neighbors and family.
He especially wants to help families remain on Maui by helping the economy rebound and increasing the supply of affordable housing in the aftermath of the fires, which destroyed nearly 4,000 structures, most of them homes that often housed multiple generations of families.
For senior citizens, Green said, “we owe it to them to keep them close to their kids.”
Gima said that “a lot of kupuna lose contact with friends, even neighbors, and they’re very much by themselves and alone. For those who are isolated, home seems the safest place. You saw that on Maui where staying at home seemed safer than leaving and going out into the fire.”
In the aftermath, AARP- Hawaii has been working with a nonprofit consultant to develop “best practices for living facilities with kupuna, like apartments that offer assisted living,” Gima said. “These people are on their own.”
But coming up with a plan also must include drills to put it into practice for a wide range of emergencies, Gima said.
“Whether it’s tsunamis, storms or fires, kupuna die overwhelmingly compared to younger people,” he said.
Disaster preparedness doesn’t have to be reserved for housing designed for senior citizens.
Hawaii is full of what Gima called “naturally occurring retirement communities” that were built in the 1970s and 1980s filled with “owners who have just aged into the community, along with their neighbors.”
And larger communities, such as Hau‘ula, have begun planning in case a tsunami hits and the area gets cut off from the rest of O‘ahu, Gima said.
“In Hauula there are no disaster shelters because all of the government buildings are right by the ocean,” he said. “If there was a tsunami, that whole area would be cut off for weeks and likely longer. What if you had a plan before a storm, before a tsunami, before a big fire? How many lives could be saved?”
In December 2023, AARP lobbied Congress to address the higher risks for senior citizens by, among other things, creating a national commission to recommend best practices; setting up a national network of training centers for states and local governments; and funding grants for disaster planning aimed at older adults, especially those with disabilities.
But families also should make their own disaster plans, Gima said, and people can do their part by identifying senior citizens who might need help if a disaster hits.
“Check on your neighbor every once in a while and just say hi,” Gima said.
