What’s it Like to Prepare for a Tsunami?

A County of Hawaii Fire & Rescue Helicopter hovers over the shuttered Visitor Center at Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historic Site during the Tsunami Warning, Saturday, February 27.

The following are a few photos taken as preparations were being made to evacuate Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historic Site due to the Tsunami Warning issued 02/27/2010. Arriving at the park in the dark at 5:45am, it was eerily quiet. Then, exactly at 6:00am the piercing sounds of the Civil Defense sirens blared out. The campers down below at Spencer County Beach Park busily rushed around in the moonlit darkness, trying to figure out what they should leave and what they should take. The Island, having experienced devastating tsunamis before, was now in full swing for a major evacuation of all low lying areas.

Once the sun came up, it was an odd feeling to drive through the Park on a Saturday morning and not see a single person on the trails. However, it was obvious to the few park employees that remained that we were not alone! At one point a humpback whale decided to do a long series of tail slaps just outside the harbor below the park. Today was supposed to be an official NOAA whale count, and I guess he wanted to make sure someone saw him (or her).  The quiet was also broken by the thumping of the Hawaii County helicopter inspecting the shore for any stragglers who had not yet heeded the evacuation orders.

In the normally empty ocean, you knew something was up as you saw many boats heading out to sea to ride out the oncoming tsunami in the open water, rather than chance it in the Kawaihae Harbor. Just as we got ready to vacate the park at 10:00am, we noticed that the water in Pelekane Bay had receded far beyond what is normally seen and that coral heads were starting to be exposed offshore. Whether this was because of an exceptionally low tide or a result of the oncoming tsunami, we didn’t hang around to find out!

Although this tsunami turned out to be minor, someday Hawaii will once again face a major tsunami and its good to have days like this to help all of us prepare for such events.

A saffron finch enjoying the empty park.

Notice the exposed mud and debris inside Pelekane Bay.

Most of the boats that had been inside the Kawaihae Harbor headed out to sea in the hours leading up to the expected tsunami.