Kolekole Pass Emergency Route Supports Tsunami Evacuation 2025

Prime Highlights:

Kolekole Pass is also open to provide emergency evacuation from West Oʻahu during the event of a tsunami warning.
The road will remain open until there is a time when the local authorities provide an official all-clear.

Key Facts:

Operated by joint efforts of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Hawaiʻi DOT, Kolekole Pass provides safe passage inland.
The road is only available for emergency use, and signs and personnel control the traffic flow.

Key Background

After a major magnitude-8.8 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, the Hawaiian Islands are currently in the warning radius for a tsunami. To prepare to respond to a disaster in the best possible manner, Oʻahu’s west coast is being evacuated through the opened-up Kolekole Pass. It links Lualualei Naval Road and Lyman Road and is being opened as a precaution to divert residents away from coastal regions vulnerable to tsunamis.

The Kolekole Pass, usually off-limits due to its military location, is a premium alternative when beach evacuation routes like the H-1 Freeway are chronically congested. The U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation jointly opened the alternate artery as a measure of panic and measure of evacuation.

Waiʻanae residents as well as those living in neighboring coastal communities were warned to drive with all haste and caution, with Kolekole Pass being taken in its entirety with full consideration for safety measures. Emergency response services have been stationed along the corridor to ensure seamless movement and prevent misutilization of the corridor.

Off of Oʻahu, evacuations were also begun on the neighboring islands of Maui, Kauaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island. Major roads and bridges were diverted to move traffic away, emergency shelters were opened in schools and civic centers with haste, and emergency public announcements were given requesting people to evacuate to higher ground or vertical evacuation from multi-story buildings.

Rapid mobilization by state and local governments is an indication of the state being aware and organized at the varying levels of natural calamities. Governor Josh Green also assured that National Guard and other resources were deployed to provide public safety, utility management, and logistics support. The opening of Kolekole Pass is a demonstration of the multi-level evacuation program that must be carried out to rescue the inhabitants from harm.