CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM East-West Center President Charles Morrison, right, received a $235,000 check yesterday from Don Horner, president and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank. The money will help Asian regions affected by the Dec. 26 quake and resulting tsunamis.

Isle donors contribute
$235,000 to aid fund

Aftershocks continue to breed panic among survivors of the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunamis, says Jose Soares Turquel De Jesus, an East-West Center student from East Timor.

De Jesus, 30, expressed gratitude yesterday to the people of Hawaii who have contributed $235,000 so far to the East-West Center's Tsunami Relief Fund.

"It's really, really helpful. Because I think at the moment, we share the same feelings with those in Asia," said De Jesus, who is studying for a master's degree in political science at the University of Hawaii.

The money will go to agencies that do not have extensive fund-raising efforts in the United States and other developed countries, said Charles Morrison, the center's president. About half of the money has been targeted.

East-West Center officials detailed how some of the money will be distributed:

» WALHI, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, will receive $30,000. The organization has about 200 volunteers in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, providing emergency medical supplies, sanitation, food and water. Banda Aceh was the closest city to the earthquake and the city hardest hit by the tsunami.

» Sarvodaya, a Sri Lankan relief organization that has pledged to care for children 11 years old and under orphaned by the disaster, will also receive $30,000. Sarvodaya also plans to care for women and girls 18 and under.

» Uplift International, which is working with Project HOPE to provide 14 tons of medicine and medical supplies to victims in North Sumatra, will receive $30,000.

» East-West Center alumni in Chennai, India, will receive $5,000 to buy fishing nets for villages on Indian islands hit by the tsunami.

And the center has set aside $25,000 to be matched by alumni chapters in affected countries. The Malaysia alumni chapter has already matched $5,000 that will go to Mercy Malaysia, a medical relief organization that is working in Sri Lanka and Aceh province in Sumatra.

"We felt that we wanted to do something that really brought the funds to people who were working on the ground," Morrison said.

A team will travel first to Indonesia and then to Sri Lanka to monitor how the East-West Center donations are spent and to identify additional recipients for donations.

The immediate concern is for response and recovery, Morrison said.

But the center will also begin focusing on rebuilding in the affected areas and in helping to improve disaster warning and preparedness.

The East-West Center started collecting donations the day after the disaster struck.

More than half of the money collected so far, or $129,500, was dropped off at First Hawaiian Bank branches statewide for the East-West Center Tsunami Relief Fund; $34,500 was mailed to or dropped off at the East-West Center; $14,000 was collected online; and $57,000 was collected at Sunday's fund-raiser performance.

TO HELP

---

Recycling deposits to go toward relief

People may contribute to tsunami victims and clear their backlog of bottles and cans in one stop at a Sierra Club benefit next weekend.

Nickel deposits on beverage containers will be collected for relief efforts in southern Asia, said Jeff Mikulina, director of the Sierra Club Hawaii chapter.

Containers with the "Hi-5" stamp may be brought to the following Honolulu locations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Saturday and Jan. 16:

» Manoa Marketplace, Woodlawn Drive entrance.

» Kapiolani Community College, corner of Kilauea and 18th avenues.

» Victoria Ward Center, corner of Ward Avenue and Auahi Street.

Reynolds Recycling is cooperating in the project.

Pipeline Cafe hosts benefit concert

Pipeline Cafe is hosting a fund-raiser concert for the East-West Center Tsunami Relief Fund from 4 to 11 p.m. tomorrow.

Co-owner Chris Jewitt said he hopes to raise $50,000 for the relief fund.

The T.E.A.R., or Tsunami Emergency Asian Relief, concert will feature 15 entertainers. Tickets are $10. Pipeline Cafe will offer complimentary pupus from 4 to 7 p.m.

Rummage sale seeks donations

Castle Medical Center is hosting a rummage sale and silent auction Jan. 16 to benefit the survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami. All proceeds will go to the American Red Cross.

In conjunction with the sale, the medical center will hold a free health fair featuring entertainment, healthy-cooking demonstrations with free food samples, and free health screenings.

People are asked to drop off new or gently used clothing, art, furniture, housewares, sporting goods, books, toys and other treasures at the medical center's employee parking lot across the street from the hospital from 2 to 6 p.m. tomorrow through Thursday.

The center is also asking for in-kind goods or services, gift certificates, tickets, antiques or other bid-worthy merchandise for the silent auction.

Salvation Army starts collection

The Salvation Army is collecting donations for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

To make a donation, checks can be made out and sent to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 620, Honolulu, HI 96809. The memo section should indicate the donation is for the South Asia Disaster Fund.

People can also make a credit card donation by calling 800-SALARMY or log online at 1800salarmy.org.

Every dollar received for the relief effort will be dedicated to helping victims of the disaster.

An estimated $2.6 million had been donated as of Wednesday.

Training urged for
tsunami response

HILO » Big Island Mayor Harry Kim put a roomful of top public officials into a relaxed state, telling them to close their eyes for a moment.

That he whacked and rattled a piece of wood, startling everyone to attention.

An earthquake jolting the island like that will be the only warning of a tsunami that might follow, he told ranking police, fire and other officials. "Until you get specific instructions and information, you're on your own," he said.

Kim conducted a workshop for about 40 officials Thursday on tsunamis, earthquakes and hurricanes, a session he planned for weeks before the Dec. 26 tsunami in southern Asia. He did everything he could to shake complacency.

"There will be automatic confusion," he said. "Radio stations will be saying something different from what we tell you."

Half of the tsunamis that hit Hawaii come from Alaska, he said. But based on Alaska sources, CNN might report that a major earthquake in Alaska did not generate a tsunami, while Hawaii sources determine that destruction is still on its way.

The worst time for a quake or an alert is a Saturday afternoon, he said, because nobody is at home, including officials. With a local earthquake, police and fire officers seeking guidance from superiors will be lucky to get a dial tone on their phone, he said.

Ranking officials need to train their personnel now, he said.

The last tsunami generated outside Hawaii came in 1960. In 141 years before that, large and small tsunamis reached Hawaii every 3 1/2 years on average.

"The quiet period we are going through is a very unusual, long quiet period," Kim said. "The longer it was to the last big earthquake, the closer it is to the next one."

The last major earthquake on the Big Island was in 1991, he said. Anyone who was born or moved here since then has no idea what to expect. "You're going to get a lot of scared people," he warned officials.

Homeowners can do things like make sure there are no glass objects that can fall and break, leading to cut feet during the confusion of a nighttime quake.