Rumor of looming earthquake stirs panic
Civil Defense officials worked last night to quell a rumor about an impending earthquake and tsunami that sent dozens if not hundreds of people rushing to gas stations and police stations.
Police and news organizations fielded hundreds of calls from residents on several islands asking about evacuations because of a pending earthquake and tsunami.
Oahu Civil Defense spokesman John Cummings said he heard about the rumor in calls from friends and media at about 7:30 p.m.
"I don't know what the original source was," he said. "Bottom line is no one can forecast an earthquake. I do not know where this came from."
Cummings said state Civil Defense and Honolulu police dispatchers were working with the media to send out correct information.
Some TV stations scrolled messages across the bottom of the screen during prime-time programming telling viewers that it was a hoax, there was no pending earthquake and no tsunami.
A story about the rumor and the panic it caused was near the top of several newscasts at 10 p.m.
Police at the Wahiawa station said about 12 people an hour entered the station to get more information after the rumor began to spread after 7 p.m.
A cashier at the Tesoro gas station in Waianae said people lined up out to the street to buy water and batteries, while cars lined up on Farrington Highway to turn left into the station.
"They're all just saying they're preparing for the worst," she said.
Victor Sardina, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was so busy fielding a flurry of calls since 4:10 p.m. that he was unable to get any work done.
"It's unbelievable," he said.
Nearly 150 calls came in from all over Oahu and the Big Island, including calls from as far as Washington state and Las Vegas, he said.
"The truth is we don't really know for sure where this rumor started. If you put things together, it might have originated from the Big Island," he said.
He said there was no earthquake last night.
"I haven't seen it this quiet in a couple of weeks," he said.
