Response
Saturday October 30, 2004
Silt was everywhere: in map drawers, in between maps; there were even fish in the Library’s server room.
On the evening of October 30th, the flood waters were still high on the ground floor. However key staff met to determine priorities (rescue maps and aerial photographs of Hawaii and the Pacific region).
The Library Preservation Department staff were prepared to respond. We had a disaster plan in place, and staff were trained. Our first goal was to move materials out of the mud and into freezers as fast as possible.
Five freezer containers were delivered on Sunday evening, and on Monday morning, maps were moved to a staging area, then into containers.
Following this same procedure, staff also began moving the aerial photographs to a staging area and then loading them into the freezer containers.
To prevent a mold outbreak (secondary disaster), the remaining five floors of Hamilton Library needed to have cool, dry air brought in using generators. There was no electricity for three months while a temporary solution was created to override the damaged infrastructure.