TSUNAMIS
Tsunamis are Hawai‘i’s most deadly natural hazard. They have killed more people on Hawai‘i Island than earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and floods combined.
Two types of tsunamis strike our coast:
- Pacific-wide tsunamis: Created by large earthquakes, they travel to Hawai‘i from distant areas like Asia, South America or Alaska.
- Locally-generated tsunamis: Produced by geologic activity in the islands.
How are Tsunamis Monitored?
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) monitors earthquakes and measures tsunami waves at sea. PTWC can provide several hours of warning time for a tsunami from a distant source. When a Tsunami Warning is issued, coastal sirens will sound. (Sirens are tested on the 1st work day of every month at 11:45am.)
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM!
- Take note: Signs are posted around Hawai‘i Island indicating when you are entering or leaving a tsunami evacuation zone.
- When you hear the sirens:
- Turn on your radio or television for more information. (*see map)
- If you are in a tsunami evacuation zone, evacuate immediately to higher ground.
- When a tsunami is generated locally:
- There may not be time for the sirens to sound before waves begin coming ashore.
- Your only warning may be to feel the ground shake from an earthquake or seeing the sea suddenly withdraw or begin to surge inland.
- If you feel a strong Earthquake, move to high ground immediately.
Do not return to coastal areas until you hear from County authorities.
- Dangerous tsunami waves may continue to come ashore for several hours.
- No matter where a tsunami originates, the waves will wrap around an island. All sides of our island are at risk.
Remember, if you are in a low-lying coastal area, you are at risk from tsunamis.
‘Iliki ke kai i ka ‘ope ‘ope la, lilo; i lilo no he hawawā.
The sea snatches the bundle and it is gone; it goes when one isn’t watchful.
‘All-Hazard’ Card Can Help When Disaster Strikes on KGMB9 News
Posted by Jules in Press Releases on April 2nd, 2009
New All Hazard Card on KGMB News
Posted by Jules in Press Releases on March 5th, 2009
Hazard Preparedness Pocket Card
Posted by Jules in Press Releases on February 5th, 2009
Hazard Mitigation Pocket Card Photo
The UHH Conference Center, in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Walter Dudley, will be releasing the first printing of the “Hazard Preparedness Pocket Card.” This innovative educational tool will be distributed to UHH students, the community and to visitors on the Big Island in a limited release edition at the end of March.
The first such tool of its kind, the Pocket Card, and this accompanying website, will provide vital information on “HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM” during a natural disaster. Dudley, and the UHH Conference Team (Judith Fox-Goldstein, Jules Ung and Brent Norris) have spent the better part of the year researching, editing and compiling the data which is included in this card.
Information on disaster preparedness, in the occurrence of tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, windstorms, rainfall, flooding, storm surge, high surf and volcanic hazards has been included. Specific instructions are recommended and the guide also contains a listing of medical facilities, fire stations, tsunami evacuation zones, emergency radio stations and offers information on supplies for basic disaster kits.
With input and oversight from Civil Defense, NOAA and the USGS, Dr. Walter Dudley, (professor of oceanography, director of the Kalakaua Marine Education Center and author of Tsunami!), and the UHH Conference Center, have undertaken this project to provide comprehensive and extremely useful information in this convenient Pocket Guide.
The initial grant, secured by the UHH Conference Center, was provided by the Hawai‘i County Department of Research & Development. With invaluable support from the Big Island Visitors Bureau, excited by the slogan of “We Prepare Because We Care”, KGMB, Hui Ka Ua and Green Collar Technologies, this informational pocket guide will, hopefully, set a model for innovative disaster preparedness delivery methodologies throughout the nation.
Civil Defense plans island-wide tsunami warning exercise
Posted by Jules in Press Releases on January 16th, 2009
William P. Kenoi, Mayor
William T. Takaba, Managing Director
Walter K.M. Lau, Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawai‘i
891 Ululani Street
Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720-3982
(808) 961-8211
Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA:
75-5706 Kuakini Highway, Suite 103
Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
(808) 329-5226
Fax (808) 326-5663
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2009
CONTACT:
Hunter Bishop, Public Relations Specialist
808-961-8565 / 808-987-5186
hbishop@co.hawaii.hi.us
Civil Defense plans island-wide tsunami warning exercise
Tuesday, January 27, won’t be an ordinary day in Hawaii County. Residents along the coastal areas that are vulnerable to the devastating effects of tsunamis will be witnessing an island-wide exercise designed to help County agencies be better prepared for a tsunami.
This will be the first full-scale tsunami response exercise conducted on the Big Island in many years, said Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator Quince Mento.
The training exercise will be highly visible to residents in or near tsunami inundation zones beginning shortly after 8 a.m., when County police, fire fighters and County crews will be mobilizing according to their existing tsunami response plans.
Earthquakes that occur on the Pacific Rim can give Hawaii as little as four hours to prepare for a tsunami.
“We’ve been very lucky in recent years in Hawaii County,” said Mento. The last significant tsunami generated on the Pacific Rim hit the Big Island in 1960, yet the island remains highly vulnerable to tsunamis generated by seismic activity that can occur any time, anywhere in the Pacific Ocean, Mento said.
County Civil Defense officials work closely with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to predict the size and estimated time of arrival in Hawaii when tsunamis are generated. The January 27th exercise will simulate a tsunami generated by an earthquake in Alaska, which would provide four hours of warning before it actually hit Hawaii.
The exercise is designed to test how well the County’s communications systems work in the event that a real tsunami is coming. Civil Defense notification procedures will be
activated for the public, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations
such as public utility companies and the American Red Cross.
County Police officers will be assigned to key intersections where traffic would be turned back in the event of an actual tsunami warning. Police officers will be issuing fliers to motorists providing information about what would happen if the real warning were in effect. Roads will not be barricaded but motorists may experience minor delays. Barricades will be delivered to the intersections as part of the exercise but they will not be erected.
Residents may see lots of vehicle movement exercise, including county trucks, police cars and helicopters on the ground and in the air, and crews with the banners and barricades at their assigned intersections.
“I am confident that Quince Mento and the Hawaii County Civil Defense team are well prepared in the event of an island-wide disaster and that this will demonstrate their effectiveness,” said Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi. “This kind of an exercise also demonstrates their dedication to bringing all of the different agencies involved, public and private, together to be ready do the best possible job of protecting our residents and property in times of emergency.”
The 8 a.m. starting time for the exercise is when various agencies will be notified to begin deploying banners and barricades at key intersections. The time was chosen so that it would not conflict with morning school traffic.
“Real world” emergencies, should they occur during the exercise, will take precedence for police officers, fire fighters and Civil Defense officials, Mento said.
The exercise will be over after police report that all simulated road block locations are secure. That is expected to occur by 10 a.m.
The impact on residents is expected to be minimal. Motorists in coastal areas however should drive carefully and be aware that police officers assigned to intersections in tsunami inundation zones may be distributing information about the tsunami exercise.
All County departments will conduct internal reviews of their procedures following the exercise to evaluate their effectiveness and make changes where necessary, said Mento, who is planning to make the tsunami exercise an annual event.
Civil Defense also will use its new electronic mass emergency notification system, City Watch, in conjunction with the exercise. The automated telephone system allows quick notification of large numbers of county personnel to respond to emergencies.
For more information about the exercise, call Hawaii County Civil Defense, 961-8229.
For more information about tsunamis, visit the web sites of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/, and the Pacific Tsunami Museum, http://www.tsunami.org/.
Click here to download a PDF of this press release.
Get Adobe Reader