Bruce and I just came back from The Big Island of
Hawaii. It was our first trip back there
in four years and we were both really looking forward to being able to do some
hiking and some water-sports. Again the
universe had other plans…
We arrived about three pm after a 17 hour trip and
forced ourselves to stay up to 10 pm just so we could adjust to the time change
as quickly as possible As you know, the earthquake that devastated Japan, also
generated a Tsunami that impacted large portion of the Pacific Rim including the Hawaiian Islands. We had just settled into bed
for some much needed sleep when the phone rang. "Bruce answered, then
relayed to me.. "The front desk just informed us that we had to evacuate
due to a Tsunami warning". "You're kidding, right?" I said
groggily; then the Tsunami sirens started sounding, and I knew it was no joke. ,
Bruce and I threw on some clothes, grabbed our ids and a couple of pillows
& blankets off of the bed and headed up the mountain in our rental car. The
designated emergency evacuation center for our location was a shopping center
parking lot located about 1000 feet above sea level. Police blocked off the exits and entrances,
and the streets around it, so once in the evacuation area that is where we
stayed .
Unlike those poor people in Japan. Hawaii had hours of forewarning, and time to
prepare. So while we and several hundred other people wound up spending
the night trying to sleep in their cars, on the grass, and anywhere else
available, no lives were lost.
The ‘goingest’ place in town was the two seater women's restroom... see line
in rear of the photo
Still it was a long night. Especially
since there was limited information on what was happening. Thank goodness BJ
and I had just gotten the text feature on our phones fixed so that we could let
our friends and families know we were okay.( Left The most reliable local news came out of
people sharing their images on facebook and u tube rather than the official
sources.
At first the whole evening seemed like the makings of a good
road warrior travel tale, but by 2:30 pm the next day when we were still
barred from returning to our hotel, our patience was wearing thin. Finally about
5pm were were finally allowed back into our condo. That is when we
finally found out what had caused the Tsunami and how badly Japan was impacted. Downtown Kona was still a mess... that area
is still blocked off to all but emergency vehicles the day we left.. This put a
serious kink in our vacation plans... Most restaurants and galleries and street
fairs in downtown Kona were closed and there was an estimated $10 Million in
damages.. Also the Harbors and State’s coastal waters were off limits for
several days due to unpredictable currents …that put the kabosh on Bruce’s dive plans, as well
as our snorkeling, kayaking, and anniversary plans. An inconvenience to
be sure, but nothing compared to the massive disruption to the social system in
Japan, and the economic
disruption to the residents of Hawaii.
The entire Kona coastline and took a heavy hit from the Tsunami. . The west
side of the main street of the little town of Kailua Kona was entirely shut down. The
Hawaiian People’s monument at the entrance to the town is wiped out. Portions
of the sea wall are gone, Kings
Palace basement flooded,
ruining many artifacts which were stored there and all of the gift shop (which
sells one-of-a-kind handicrafts) were underwater. All the nicer restaurants and
galleries were awash on the ocean side and are now cordoned off. The Historic
Kona Inn was damaged .
The Seawall, Dock, of the Fairwinds Catamaran
Tours and Kayak Shops at Keahou
Bay were demolished.
Debris from the Fairwind and Snorkeling shops were swept into the Sacred pool
which is the Hawaiian Peoples Sacred Birthplace of King Kahameamea I
This house at Keahou Bay
was lucky. Only half the structure was
damaged. Several others at Kaleakuala
Bay were totally
destroyed, and one was washed out into the Bay itself where the local crews
were frantically trying to remove it before it polluted the sensitive Marine
sanctuary
Other areas up and down the North West and West facing coast were
equally hard hit. North of Kona, two of the luxury hotels had their beaches
trashed, shops demolished and ground floor rooms/ restaurants flooded.
South of Kona, all the State beaches and Hawaiian Peoples Historic Sites
suffered damage
Just to add insult to injury.. the Kilauea
Volcano had a very strong eruption just
before we arrived, which closed down the National Park to visitors. Then the night of the Tsunami, there was a
6.3 earthquake on the Big
Island which set off
landslides of sharp lava rock everywhere, so all the roads were down to
one-lane. What a mess. This is a very poor state. Since the downturn
of the US,
they were heavily dependent upon Japanese tourism. Now that will probably dry up. The Big Island of Hawaii doesn’t have much
money or even the necessary equipment to repair the entire damaged
infrastructure. Right now, the hotels
are sending their employees out to clean up the beaches, and volunteers are
clearing the roads, but that doesn’t patch the roads or replace the sea walls.
I hope Hawaii
is eligible for National disaster relief funds.
It is such a beautiful place
