Hawaii County, HI Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- HCC § 7-2-1, loitering during tsunami warning
- Trigger period
- Tsunami warning, tsunami itself, or declared disaster period
- Maximum penalty
- $500 fine, 30 days jail, or both (§ 7-2-4)
- Enforcing agency
- County police and the civil defense administrator
- Key exception
- Lawfully protecting property or authorized emergency duty
- Related offense
- Parking in a disaster area; vehicle towed at owner's expense
Summary
Hawaii County makes it a crime to loiter, loaf, or idle on any public highway, sidewalk, beach, or coastal area once a tsunami warning is issued and for as long as one remains in effect, or during and right after a tsunami strikes. Section 7-2-1 also punishes anyone who disobeys a police officer's traffic order or refuses to leave when ordered to evacuate.
A person commits the offense of loitering during an emergency if during a tsunami warning period, or during and immediately after a tsunami that person knowingly: (1) Loiters, loafs, or idles upon any public highway, public place, sidewalk, or beach, on foot or on any vehicle, in any coastal area, or area subject to tsunami action. (2) Disobeys any direction or command of any police officer directing traffic. (3) Refuses or fails to leave any area, public or private, upon order of a police officer, which action impedes or tends to impede the effective and orderly handling of an evacuation or a disaster; provided that this section shall not prevent any authorized person from lawfully preserving, protecting, or salvaging any property, real or personal, or to prevent any other authorized person from performing any other lawful duty.
Full Breakdown
Hawaii County Code Section 7-2-1, part of the Disaster and Emergency Management chapter enacted by Ordinance 22-103, defines three ways a person commits loitering during a tsunami emergency: idling on foot or in a vehicle on any public highway, sidewalk, beach, or coastal area subject to tsunami action; disobeying a police officer's traffic direction; or refusing to leave an area when a police officer's order is impeding an evacuation. The companion section, 7-2-2, extends the same offense to any impending disaster or disaster period, not just tsunamis, and adds a fourth act: refusing to evacuate when ordered.
Both sections carve out an exception for anyone lawfully preserving, protecting, or salvaging property, or performing another authorized duty, so a resident securing their own home before a wave arrives is not swept into a citation. 5(a). Given Hilo and Kona both sit on tsunami-exposed coastline, this is a live enforcement tool during every Pacific-wide tsunami advisory the County receives, not a dormant provision left over from an old civil-defense code.
Violations & Fines
Section 7-2-4 sets the penalty for any offense under Article 2: a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both. Each violation is charged separately, and unauthorized parking inside a disaster area under section 7-2-3 escalates from a $100 fine on a first conviction to $500 on a third within a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the tsunami loitering law apply all the time?
Is there an exception for protecting my own property?
What's the penalty for violating the tsunami loitering law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hawaii County
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