LAHAINA – The next West Maui Community Disaster Planning Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov 15, at the West Maui Senior Center at 788 Pauoa St. in Lahaina at 5:30 p.m.

The guest speaker this month will be Sharon Mielbrecht of the Pacific Disaster Center.

The West Maui Taxpayers Association is working with the Maui Emergency Management Agency, The Pacific Disaster Center, and the State Emergency Management Agency to develop a customized disaster plan designed to meet West Maui’s specific needs.

Isolation from the island’s major hospital and airport due to frequent road closures, fires and flooding have highlighted the need for special preparedness planning.

The Hawaii Hazards Awareness & Resilience Program (HHARP) is a series of monthly workshops presented by subject matter experts to provide education for hazard understanding and offer tools and information resources to guide community mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery planning. The meeting is free and open to the public. More information on WMTA and disaster preparedness can be found at www.westmaui.org.