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Kahu Ola · Guardian of Life

Hawaiʻi Hazard Signals

Support & FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is Kahu Ola an official government app?

    No. Kahu Ola is an independent civic technology initiative and should be treated as a supplemental informational tool. Always follow official emergency guidance from HIEMA, Maui County EMA, and NWS.

  • Does the homepage call government APIs in my browser?

    No. All upstream data calls are proxied server-side through the Kahu Ola Cloudflare Worker. The browser never contacts NASA, NOAA, NWS, or any upstream API directly — this is a core architectural invariant.

  • Why does the Live Map show "NEXRAD Unavailable"?

    Kahu Ola proxies NEXRAD data from Iowa State Mesonet via the Worker. If the upstream is temporarily down, the system falls back to terrain-based context and clearly labels the data source as "Terrain Context" rather than "NEXRAD Live".

  • Is my location stored anywhere?

    No. Location data is processed entirely on your device. GPS coordinates never cross the device boundary. Kahu Ola has Zero PII architecture — no location history is built, stored, or transmitted.

  • What does "FRESH / STALE / DEGRADED" mean?

    Every hazard signal shows its data age. FRESH = recently updated. STALE = older data shown as context only. DEGRADED = upstream source temporarily unavailable, civic fallback active. Stale data is always clearly labeled — never presented as current.

  • When will the mobile app be available?

    The Kahu Ola iOS app is in development. Contact [email protected] to be notified at launch. The web platform at kahuola.org is fully available now on any browser.

Troubleshooting

  • Hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) to load the latest version.
  • Open in an Incognito / Private window to rule out browser extension conflicts (especially crypto wallet extensions).
  • Use production URLs only: kahuola.org/, kahuola.org/live-map.html, kahuola.org/privacy.html, kahuola.org/support.html.
  • If the Live Map shows a blank screen, check browser console for errors — most issues are extension conflicts, not Kahu Ola code.
  • STALE or DEGRADED badges are expected behavior when upstream sources are temporarily slow — not errors.

Permissions

Location: Location access is only requested when a specific safety function needs it — proximity-based alerts, shelter distance checks, or neighborhood hazard lookups. The intended model is contextual use on-demand, not continuous background collection.

Notifications: Notification access may be used on supported platforms so residents can receive timely civic safety prompts. Users can disable notifications at any time in device settings.

Contact

For operational questions, compliance requests, data accuracy concerns, or general support:

Email Support
[email protected]
Response within 48 hours for non-emergency inquiries.

Official sources residents should follow

Kahu Ola provides situational awareness only. For emergency decisions, always follow these official authorities:

Not an Official Government App

Kahu Ola is an independent civic technology initiative. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to NASA, NOAA, USGS, FEMA, EPA, or any U.S. government agency. All referenced data is sourced through publicly available Open Data APIs.