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Water Ways Ray Pendleton |
Any time can be
tsunami timeWhen the Civil Defense sirens began wailing at the Ala Wai harbor earlier this month, my visitors from the mainland really jumped.
"It's just a test," I assured them. "It happens every month."
I went on to explain that the sirens were to alert everyone to the threat of hurricanes and, more importantly, tsunamis, because unlike hurricanes, their approach is invisible.
Quickly, the conversation centered on tsunamis -- or what were once called tidal waves -- and I described a Tuesday morning almost 10 years ago.
At 6:30 a.m. Waikiki's sirens blared into action after Civil Defense officials received word that a powerful offshore earthquake had rocked Japan.
Radio and television reported that a tsunami generated by that distant earthquake could reach the Hawaiian Islands by 10:30 that morning and residents were advised to follow the directions provided in their phone books.
For boat owners, the phone book's advice was brief: "All vessels should be secured, removed, or put to sea due to the probability of strong horizontal currents, surges and wave action."
For most owners with boats moored in the Ala Wai harbor, putting out to sea was the safest and most expedient procedure and nearly a third of those did so.
By midmorning some 250 boats could be seen a mile or two offshore, waiting for the all-clear signal, or for a disaster to strike their home port.
There were vessels of every size and description, from dinner cruise ships and longliners, to tankers, tugs and barges.
Still, I was surprised at the time by how many boats were still tied up in their slips. Either their owners had very good insurance policies or they had badly underestimated the gravity of the situation.
Eventually, it was determined that the earthquake had not created a tsunami, so the all-clear signal was given and the boats returned to port.
But the threat of tsunamis to Hawaii clearly remains, and as the folks from Civil Defense say, "It's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when."
Fortunately for Hawaii's boaters the state now has a very comprehensive Hawaii Boater's Hurricane Safety Manual available, which includes a four-page section on tsunami education and survival.
We are also fortunate to have the Pacific Tsunami Museum in our state which is devoted entirely to tsunami education.
Based in Hilo and on-line at www.tsunami.org, the museum also works to "serve as a living memorial to those who lost their lives in past tsunami events."
As its vision statement reads, "In general, most people are familiar with the destruction and loss of life caused by hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes. Unfortunately, the general public understands too little about tsunamis."
And yet, the museum notes, tsunamis have killed more people in our state than all other natural disasters combined.
To help fulfill its mission of raising tsunami awareness and to save lives when the next destructive tsunami strikes Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Museum is holding a fund-raiser dinner at the Waikiki Yacht Club on Saturday, April 10, from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
The dinner will feature a silent auction, live entertainment, tsunami survivors and guest speaker Dr. Walter Dudley; Director, Kalakaua Marine Education Center and Professor of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii - Hilo, and author of the book "Tsunami!"
For reservations or information, call 955-4405.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Ray Pendleton is a free-lance writer based in Honolulu.
His column runs Saturdays in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached by e-mail at raypendleton@mac.com.
