Rear Adm. Brian Fort, commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, announced that U.S. Navy ships and submarines based in Hawaii not currently undergoing maintenance availabilities have begun to sortie as Hurricane Lane travels toward the Hawaiian Islands.

Ships that sortie will be positioned to help respond after the storm, if needed.

"Based on the current track of the storm, we made the decision to begin to sortie the Pearl Harbor-based ships," Fort said. "This allows the ships enough time to transit safely out of the path of the storm."

Units will remain at sea until the threat from the storm subsides and Hawaii-based Navy aircraft will be secured in hangars or flown to other airfields to avoid the effects of the hurricane.

The Navy orders a sortie during potentially extreme weather conditions to reduce the risk of significant damage to ships and piers during high winds and seas. Some ships will not get underway, due to various maintenance availabilities, and are taking extra precautions to avoid potential damage. Commanding officers have a number of options when staying in port, depending on the severity of the weather. Some of these options include adding additional mooring and storm lines, dropping the anchor, and disconnecting shore power cables.

Personnel in Navy Region Hawaii, including on Oahu and Kauai, should follow hurricane awareness and preparedness guidelines established by city/county and state government. Navy Region Hawaii and its installations provide updated information on Facebook sites:

■ Navy Region Hawaii
■ Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
■​​​​​​​ Pacific Missile Range Facility

At the beginning of hurricane season in early June, Navy Region Hawaii provided detailed information in the region/base newspaper Ho'okele for service members, civilian workforce and families. Information included preparing a disaster supply kit, creating a family emergency communication plan and knowing where to go if ordered to evacuate:

■​​​​​​​ http://www.hookelenews.com/be-ready-for-hurricane-season/

■​​​​​​​ http://www.hookelenews.com/be-ready-for-hurricane-season-2/

Additional information for families is available online at the Navy Region Hawaii website, via the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service.

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