Aleta Kahn
English Department Chair Shares Experience of Hawaiian Tsunami
By Jake H.
HAWAII: 6 a.m., February 27: Aleta Kahn, English teacher and chairperson of the English department at The Family Foundation School, awoke to the tsunami early-warning sirens piercing the warm Hawaiian air on the island of Maui.
The sirens warned of a tsunami rushing for the islands at the seemingly impossible speed of 500 miles/hour.
The tsunami was a result of the Chilean earthquake, which measured 8.8 on the Richter scale (the largest recorded magnitude in history) and devastated Chile only 15 hours earlier.
Television and radio stations reported the approaching waves would strike the shore at approximately 11 a.m.; only five hours to go.
Hawaiian tsunami officials advised people to stock-up on food and water for the next five days in case of catastrophe, and advised them to evacuate low-lying areas. (In Hawaii all of the phonebooks contain evacuation maps in case of tsunamis.)
The waves of the tsunami travel incredibly fast and are followed by a large volume of water. When the wave hits land, it is not only the height of the wave that causes the damage, but also the combination of the amount of water behind the wave and the topography of the land that it strikes. “We had no idea how big the waves were going to be,” said Kahn. If the waves were small or even moderate, the topography of the island would safeguard the inhabitants.
The topography of the island is such that just beyond the beach the elevation rises sharply. The unpredictability of tsunamis led safety officials to fear that if the warnings given were not taken seriously and people did not evacuate, the damage might be great.
With the tsunami-signature tide going out, and the swelling of creeks and rivers, supermarkets on the island began to experience a surge in shoppers. Kahn went to the supermarket to stock-up on supplies. “It was packed,” she said. Gas stations on the island experienced a surge in customers as well.
Even though the gradual ebbing of the tide may not have been detectable by the average tourist visiting the island, locals and officials were aware of it. “I personally couldn’t tell the difference, but because the locals have a better sense of the level it normally is, they could,” said Kahn. Early warnings left evacuation voluntary, but as the morning wore on, evacuation became mandatory.
As a result of the approaching waves, both the police and fire departments were helping civilians along the shoreline areas. “I believe that the precautions taken by the Hawaiian authorities were justified, taking into account the unpredictability of tsunamis,” said Kahn.
Family and friends back home stood by anxiously awaiting word from Kahn.
When the waves finally struck shore on Maui at 11:20 a.m., they were only three to six feet high and inflicted little to no damage to the island.
The islanders were back to business as usual by the afternoon and Kahn was back to her vacation, taking in the beautiful sights and luxuriating on the beaches of Maui.
