Tsunami Month activities
begin with memorial
service in Hilo

Other services and various displays
will be part of the events

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Star-Bulletin staff

Tsunami Awareness Month began today with the Shinmachi Reunion and Memorial Service in Hilo to commemorate those who were killed in the 1946 tsunami.

Eight Pacific-wide tsunamis hit the Hawaiian Islands between 1900 and 1964 with wave heights of 10 feet or more, according to Laura Kong, new International Tsunami Information Center director.

Residents are urged to "Be Tsunami Smart" and contact their civil defense agencies for free information about tsunami waves, locally generated earthquakes, vulnerable areas, evacuation and preparedness.

Oahu public school students will be evacuated in event of a tsunami warning and parents need to be familiar with their schools' emergency and evacuation plans, said John M. Cummings III, Oahu Civil Defense Education and Training Officer.

Brian Yanagi, State Civil Defense tsunami program manager, urged people to have a family emergency plan, pointing out "parents are more likely to stay off the roads if they know their children are safe."

Among events planned during April:

>> Public Television will air two KidScience programs about tsunamis for students from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday and April 9. "Tsunami Killer Waves" will be replayed on Cable Public Access Channels from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Thursday and on April 11. Speakers and demonstrations will illustrate the science and power behind tsunamis and warning and evacuate procedures.

Phone lines will be open during the live programs so students can ask questions, said Patty Miller, Department of Education tele-teacher and creator of KidScience. For more information, call her at 837-8004.

>> A memorial service will be held from 8:35 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Friday at Laupahoehoe on the Big Island to commemorate those who died in the 1946 tsunami. The event will feature tree planting, talk story and park cleanup with Laupahoehoe Elementary, Middle and High Schools and senior citizens. Call 962-2200 on the Big Island for information.

>> Displays, safety information, demonstrations and emergency equipment will be featured in a tsunami exhibit, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 20, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 21, at the Windward Mall in Kaneohe. For information, call Cummings, 527-5490.

>> The 14th Annual Earth Day Fair and Environmental Education Forum will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 24, at the Hawaii Community College, Hilo. Call Ellen Okuma, 974-7483 for information.

>> The Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Ewa Beach, will hold open house from 10 a.m. to noon, every Friday and Saturday in April with tours, demonstrations and safety information. Call Marilyn Ramos for information, 689-8207, extension 300.

>> ''Aunty Donna's Tsunami Stories" will be told from 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each Saturday in April at the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo. Call Donna Saiki, 935-0926 in Hilo, for information. Regular admission fees are $5, adults; $2, students; and $4 for seniors.