By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

The evening of Sept. 10, 1992, Safeway Kapa'a on Kaua'i's east side was packed with people trying to scoop up hurricane survival essentials: batteries, toilet tissue, disposable diapers, rice.

By the next morning, as word got around that 'Iniki was on a head-on course for Kaua'i, the line of panicked people snaked out the door, down the shopping complex, across the parking lot and down the street of every grocery store and supermarket on the island. Everyone looked afraid, and though folks tried to be congenial, it's hard to watch someone heading to their car with a shopping cart full of stuff when you're number 257 in line. There was little left on the shelves for those who actually made it into the stores before county officials ordered everyone off the streets. Canned juice, saimin, dried fruit, kakimochi — people were buying anything just to feel like they weren't facing the storm empty-handed.

Kaua'i people learned hard lessons about preparedness. When they rebuilt, they did so with hurricane clips and ties. Families now have deep pantries with ample supplies of non-perishable foods and lots of containers for water. They know the first thing to do when you hear a storm is on the way is to make sure you have an adequate supply of prescription medication. And they know that masking tape X's on jalousies don't provide much protection.

As we head into hurricane season, 10 years after 'Iniki, there is danger that these critical lessons may be forgotten. Hawai'i may have been lulled into a false sense of security. O'ahu residents may feel that, hey, that's a Kaua'i thing. We don't have to worry.

Or worse, people may think that, if a hurricane hits, then somehow, someone will take care of them.

The thing is, that someone has to be you.

The National Weather Service Central Pacific Hurricane Center has teamed up with the state Civil Defense, American Red Cross and Hawai'i Army National Guard to emphasize preparedness during Hurricane Awareness Week. The theme of the joint effort is "Working Together to Save Lives" — but a crucial part of the "together" they're talking about involves us, the community. It's up to each one of us to get informed and be prepared.

Now is the time to make the big shopping run. Now is the time to sit with your family and come up with plans for evacuation, safe shelter, and prepping the house if a storm is on the way. Now is the time to pick up a weather radio. Now is the time to decide that, if a hurricane is coming, we're packing up the dog, the cooler and the sleeping bags and heading to Auntie Cookie's windowless basement "bunker."

We knew for days that 'Iniki was on its way, though the seriousness of the situation only sank in the last 24 hours before the hurricane hit land. Still, for some, it wasn't enough time to prepare.

So start now.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.