The National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii has been awarded more than $4.8 million for fiscal year 2009 by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka announced today.

The center provides disaster training to ensure that island communities throughout the Pacific are ready and able to respond, recover, and reconstruct after catastrophes. UH has one of seven federally funded FEMA National Domestic Preparedness sites nationwide.