Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:57 PM
Hi everyone:
We have been evacuated from our hotel due to tsunami warning..sirens went off at 5:45 a.m., hotel was completely emptied...they brought us our car...others are being bussed out to higher ground. Earthquake in Chile was 8.8 on richter scale...tsunami is expected to hit this island at about 11:00 a.m., (4 ET). We drove to our cousin’s house in Kona (Big Island) which is at the top of a hill...we can see all the way down to the ocean from here. Unbelievable...people are shopping, getting gas, traffic is bad. Our cousin has gone out to get some supplies. We are watching public tv for info.
Our plans may have to change re getting back to Oahu and getting out of Hawaii as scheduled. Right now, we are scheduled to leave the Big Island on Monday afternoon when we have a flight booked to Phoenix and then Vancouver on Friday. However, depending on what happens, we'll have to play that by ear. As long as there is internet, I'll keep you informed.Saturday, February 27, 2010 11:29 PM
Hi Everyone!
Well, the emergency is over. We went back to the hotel after the tsunami was downgraded, but found the power off here. We had to sit outside around the pool for the past 4 hours as there was a blown transformer when all the hotels in the area (that had voluntarily turned off their power to prevent a water purification breech) turned them on all at once.
Thanks to all of you who responded to my emails. Your letters were much appreciated, and made me feel connected during a time of threat and uncertainty. Actually, there were some pretty amazing sea changes that we were observing on the TV at our cousin's house, where we spent the morning and early afternoon. The ocean seemed to draw back, exposing rocks, reefs and beaches that are normally not exposed, only to have a surge cover them again. This happened several times over the time between 11 a..m., and about 1:30, when they declared things to be safe. But the size of the surges did not, thankfully, reach feared expectations, and there was no damage and no loss of life.
We are now aware of the awful devastation in Chile from the earthquake, and are heartsick for the suffering that yet another country is suffering from natural catastrophes that seem to have been happening more often this year. We have been most fortunate, and, as they say, this time dodged a bullet. The system worked well...sirens woke us up at 5:45 a.m., and we were instructed to leave the hotel and head for higher ground. The hotel staff were friendly, efficient and helpful...which was very reassuring. Having had this experience, it is easy to see how much has been learned since the last tsunamis in Indonesia a few years back. We had time to get to safety even though the worst did not happen, and this is again like a drill that was entirely successful.
Warmest regards
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