Star-Bulletin file photo
Bent parking meters show the direction of waves
that ran across Kamehameha Avenue in
downtown Hilo in 1960.

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Tsunami specialists
to educate public

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

Since Hawaii hasn't had a major tsunami in 35 years, even the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center hasn't seen one.

Director Chip McCreery recalls that when he moved to Hawaii in 1968, "People were saying, 'Boy, we have tsunamis all the time.' "

"The whole time I've been here, there have been no destructive tsunamis," he said.

He likes to attribute this to the warning center. "I point out how effective we are."

The warning system has been greatly improved and more changes are planned. Still, there's a problem of public complacency.

Because the most recent tsunami warning was in 1964, people may have forgotten or never learned how to protect themselves and their families, McCreery said.

The National Weather Service, Hawaii State Civil Defense, Pacific Tsunami Museum, warning center and other agencies have planned activities this month to educate residents about tsunami dangers.

Richard Hagemeyer, Honolulu-based director of the weather service's Pacific region, said that Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California also are likely tsunami targets.

Hawaii's experiences are being shared with those states to produce inundation and evacuation maps and help educate the public in a National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, he said.

About $2.3 million annually is being spent on the program, which includes deploying deep-ocean buoy monitors and expanding seismic warning networks.

Hagemeyer said the 35th anniversary of the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 last Saturday "was a wake-up call" much like the April 1, 1946, tsunami that hit Hilo.

A tsunami from the Alaska earthquake killed more than 100 people in Alaska, Oregon and California.

The 1946 tsunami that devastated Keaukaha killed 159 people. It was Hawaii's worst natural disaster.

McCreery said equipment is being tested at the warning center for a seismic communication and processing package called the "Earthworm System" developed by the U.S. Geological Survey.

It will give the center access to higher quality seismic data from the National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado and from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, he said.

"Seismic data will come in continuously and will include a lot more U.S. stations than we've had access to before, as well as quite a number of international stations around the Pacific."

The data will be 10 times better and the center will get earthquake locations and magnitudes quicker, he said.

McCreery said the biggest advance in 30 years in terms of measuring tsunamis will be six deep-ocean pressure sensors with buoys giving scientists a picture of what's crossing the Pacific.

Two of the devices, developed by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, were deployed in 1997 off the Alaska peninsula and Oregon, but had operational problems.

"They're working again and some deployments are planned in the next few months," McCreery said. The buoys ultimately will span waters from the northwestern Pacific to south of California, he said.

McCreery said the present system allows public warning from three to 14 hours for a tsunami traveling from a distance, such as those in 1946, 1962, 1967, 1960 and 1964.

One of its weaknesses is that little warning time is available for locally generated tsunamis, he said.

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Survivors remember tsunami

By Star-Bulletin staff

Survivors of the April 1 tsunami that destroyed Keaukaha in Hilo 53 years ago gathered there today to reminisce and document their stories.

A commemorative ceremony and services were planned at 7 a.m. at the Seaside Restaurant in Keaukaha, with a dinner at the Hilo Yacht Club. Both were devastated by the 1946 tsunami.

Dan Walker, the Oahu Civil Defense Agency's tsunami adviser, will discuss the phenomenon and science of tsunamis at 6:30 tonight at the Hauula Satellite City Hall in Laie. Also speaking will be Peter Hirai, civil defense preparedness and mitigation officer.

In other activities for Hawaii's third annual Tsunami Awareness Month:

The Hawaii State Public Library System will feature speakers on tsunamis at different libraries throughout the month. For the schedule, call Susan Nakata, 586-3620.
On Fridays and Saturdays through April the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach will have open house with tours and presentations at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. For reservations, call 689-8207, Ext. 300.
On April 10 the Waiakea High School Tsunami Oral History Project will host a Survivor Recognition Program at 2 p.m. at the Pacific Tsunami Museum. About 150 ninth-graders interviewed tsunami survivors, who will be invited to the event.
Oahu Civil Defense will sponsor a booth and provide tsunami awareness materials at the Lions Club Family Safety Day, Waianae Mall.
On April 17, Borders bookstore in Hilo will dedicate the day to tsunami awareness and programs for the Pacific Tsunami Museum. Speakers and displays will be featured.
The National Weather Service and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center will sponsor an information booth at the Kapolei Spring Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 91-1111 Kamaaha Loop, Kapolei.
On April 18, the 75-year-old Waiakea Pirates will hold a reunion and memorial to members and victims of the 1960 tsunami that devastated the Waiakea area. A commemorative service will be at 9 a.m. followed by brunch at the Pacific Tsunami Museum.
On April 22, an exhibit booth will be hosted by the Weather Service and warning center during the 11th Annual Earth Day Fair, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Upper Campus of Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii-Hilo.