Tsunami Event In Hawaii

Travel
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My posting is to let you know how we handle emergencies in the Pacific and what you might do during an emergency.

FYI, Russian earthquake (8.8) so we have a tsunami alert for Hawaii, however I am far above and far away from the effected area. Until the waves hit Midway, we can only guess the height. With far away quakes, Hawaii often has hours to prepare.

Flights from the mainland headed to Hawaii are returning to the mainland or being diverted. This is because many resorts are near the ocean and local traffic has priiority. Outbound flights are probably not effected, however flights will stop near tsunami time.

A big evacuation of hotels and houses along the beaches across the islands. Hotel people 4 or more floors up are safe to stay put.

Last tsunami we did not have a big wave. What we had was usually waves come in and go out at the same rate. With a tsunami here it can be a wave that comes in but does not fully drain back out before the next wave brings in more water. However we could have very high waves, it just depends upon tides, direction of travel, etc. I know that Alii Drive in Kona may have shops at ground level flooded as that has happened in the past. Hotels have busses on call to take people away from the shore. The tsunami sirens should notify everyone and hopefully the homeless will also move away from the shore. All beach parks are closed. Cruise ships have offloaded people. Kona airport open but Hilo airport closed.

Everyones phones have had the alerts which works great for visitors too.

On many islands you only have to travel a few miles from the coast to be up in altitude and out of a tsunami zone.

The nice thing is that for the most part, it is an orderly move away from the coast and people are handling it well. This is kinda the opposite of the North Korea Missle Alert we had which turned out to be a mistake, but caused much concern.

The current flight map shows that we are not very active at the moment for flights.

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A couple hours after the waves started, it appears that there was no major damage. There was a 15 foot drop in one harbor on Maui. A lot of flooding in Hilo.

With tsunamis you just never know what you will get because of winds, tides and direction of water flows.

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Stay safe my friend.

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2am here now, and until daybreak it is difficult to assess any damage, however we believe it will not be significant. Coastal flooding most likely but some harbors like Maui and the town of Hilo are especially prone to flooding with any tsunami. The warning was cencelled at 11pm. The Pacific Tsunami Center (in Hawaii) will be active for many hours more as they also send data out to other countries.

We believe the largest waves have pased and Civil Defense is watching to see if any other large waves are detected.

So although this tsunami was not big, we have had larger. It takes a while to be able to evaluate how bad it can be. Hawaii is located in the middle of the Pacific.

The maximum wave heights of past tsunamis hitting Hawaii have varied significantly, with some reaching up to 17 meters (55 feet). In Hilo Bay, the 1960 Chilean tsunami reached 11 meters (35 feet). The 1946 Aleutian Islands tsunami reached 17 meters (55 feet) on the Big Island. Other islands have experienced smaller, yet still significant, waves.

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Perhaps it is obvious, but flights are resuming today to and from the islands. However unlike the mainland where they can move equipment from adjacent areas, we just wait for the mainland flights due yesterday to show up, then turn the planes around and send them back out after appropriate crew rest periods.

Many ships left harbors yesterday because it is safer for them in the open water than in port. The harbors have to be inspected and cleared by Coast Guard before the ships can come back in.

Normally the Pride of America cruise ship is in port on my side of the Big Island on Wednesdays. They are in Hilo the day before (yesterday). They let their passengers off and took the ship out into open water. When Hilo port is reopened, the ship will dock and passengers allowed back on. If the tsunami happened today it would have delayed peoples trips more. That is because we don’t have a dock on our side, the ships use their tenders (their emergency boats) to shuttle people back and forth from shore to ship. Because of crazy currents, they might have had to stay an extra day here to ensure their tender ride is smooth.

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I was traveling southbound on the Alaska state ferry between Juneau and Ketchikan when the quake occurred. Fortunately I never felt a ripple as the vessel was in the protected inside passage.