Lawmakers are proposing a measure that would require all new public buildings to be constructed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes.
Senate Bill 2972 states that warmer seas and fewer trade winds are making Hawaiʻi more vulnerable to strong hurricanes, and thus future government buildings should be adequately equipped to serve as shelters in a major disaster.
No public buildings in the state are currently designed to withstand a Category 5 storm with wind speeds of 157 mph or higher.
According to testimony submitted by the state Department of Education, the Hawaiʻi State Building Code includes criteria for "enhanced hurricane protection areas" in certain government buildings to withstand up to a Category 3 hurricane.
Several individuals testified in support of the measure at a hearing last week, saying the current public shelter options were insufficient.
Climate scientist Chip Fletcher told HPR that hurricane patterns are shifting away from the equator toward higher latitudes.
"So that means hurricanes that had previously passed south of Hawaiʻi may now intersect our windward sides," Fletcher said.
He added that tropical cyclones and hurricanes are increasing both in number and strength.
"Hurricanes are larger, wetter, with greater wind speeds," Fletcher said.
Some scientists recently proposed creating a Category 6 for hurricanes with wind speeds above 192 miles per hour. There have been five storms since 2013 that would meet that criterion. All were in the Pacific.
