Apartment living: Preparing for an emergency

by Alyssa Okamura | Sept. 12, 2025

Emergencies can happen to anyone, whether you own, rent, live in a high-rise condo, have an apartment, or dorm for college. With the worsening impacts of climate change, even if you think you are in an area where “nothing bad” ever happens, you must be prepared. As an apartment renter, I know it can feel overwhelming to build an emergency kit and deal with various situations when we have limited space and there are other parties, like facilities management, involved. However, my apartment and many other buildings in Hawaii are near the coastline in areas that may require evacuation or can easily be impacted by natural disasters. With this, it is important we find creative solutions to prepare and prioritize our safety.

Unlike living in a house, being in a large building requires additional plans you need to be prepared for. Here’s what you should remember if you live in an apartment, condo, or dorm:

• Understand your building emergency evacuation protocols and add all contact numbers for facilities maintenance and the housing office to your phone.
• If you experience a power outage, you must contact your facilities management team. You may also check our outage maps on the Hawaiian Electric mobile app or website to see if crews are aware of an outage in the area.
• Make sure you are aware of the available exits you can utilize that are not the elevator.
• Check to see if your building elevator system and parking gates work, even during a power outage.
• If you have roommates, create a plan for communicating if separated.
• Understand your building location’s evacuation zone and structure to identify if you need to leave in an emergency such as a tsunami threat.
• Check your windows and balcony doors to understand how to secure them in the event of severe wind or rain.

Build your go bag with emergency items including important documents such as:

• Rent/lease agreements and insurance documents
• Passports, birth certificates, and other important identification
• Laptop and charger: Be sure to grab this in an emergency if many of your documents and photos are saved digitally.

One of the biggest challenges while living in an apartment, condo, dorm, or even townhome is that there is a limited amount of storage space. Stockpiling supplies for two weeks to a month may seem out of reach. I personally don’t have a pantry area, so storing cases of food and water can be a challenge, but there are ways to maximize your space and still be prepared for an emergency.

Tips for building your COMPACT emergency kit:

• Focus on multipurpose items for your kit, such as solar-powered phone chargers that can double as flashlights and as a hand crank radio.
• Utilize under the bed storage for cases of water or gallon jugs, as well as storing your emergency go bag or kit.
• For food, opt for foods you eat and often restock, such tomato soup or peanut butter and bread, as well small snacks that are easy to pack, like dried fruit, beef sticks, and granola/protein bars.
• Coordinate with neighbors on safety plans and storing larger items, which you may be able to share in an emergency.

Find our handbook for emergency preparedness on our website, at hawaiianelectric.com/stormcenter.

It can be hard to remember all the essentials to pack or to buy supplies when everyone is in a rush as an emergency is happening. From personal experience, with the recent tsunami threat to Hawaii, my apartment was a mess, and I had an unfinished go bag — not ideal if the tsunami threat was extreme. Having your emergency kit ready can take a large burden off your shoulders so that you can focus on making sure that you and your family are safe.

Don’t forget to sign up for emergency alerts from Hawaiian Electric on our website or mobile app and follow our social media where we post updates during emergencies. Additionally, subscribe to your county’s civil defense alerts to stay informed:

• Oahu: HNL Alert, text “HNLALERT” to 888777 to quick subscribe.
• Maui County: MEMA Alerts, text “MAUIALERTS” to 38276 to quick subscribe.
• Hawaii Island: Hawaii County Civil Defense, text “HAWAIIALERTS” to 888777 to quick subscribe.
• Visit hawaii.gov for a comprehensive list of alert sign-ups statewide.

Alyssa Okamura is a digital communications and social media specialist at Hawaiian Electric.