Tsunami stories
Related Content
Writing for Media students
March 1, 2010
Filed under Features, Top Stories
Hawaii residents held their breath as tsunami warning sirens sounded around the island on Saturday, Feb. 27. Campus events were canceled and various state athletic tournaments postponed. Closing night of ‘Iolani Dramatic Players’ “Kiss Me, Kate” was imperiled by the tsunami warning, but the show did eventually go on.
The students of Ms. Karin Swanson’s Writing for Media class later shared their stories. Some students’ households were evacuated, while other families welcomed friends and neighbors and enjoyed impromptu tsunami tailgate parties. All agreed that the precautions, while ultimately unnecessary, were prudent.
Brennan Miyasaki, 17 remained asleep through every single siren and believed the tsunami a lie concocted by his parents and sister to wake him up. His grandma, a Hawaii Kai resident, was evacuated and stayed with Miyasaki’s family. He remained certain the tsunami would not come. The family watched the tide changes on the television until around 12:30 p.m. when Miyasaki went to Hawaii Kai to skateboard with friends. “It was a waste of two hours,” he said. — Nicole Peltzer
For Tiffany Tuisano, 17, the tsunami warning meant evacuation to the Honolulu police station. Tuisano, unconcerned, text-messaged her friends and ate the ice cream that the station provided. She stayed there from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., watching the updates on television and worrying about the dogs she had to leave at home. Her family had gathered food, clothes, and toilet paper before evacuating, in case anything should happen to their home. — Erin Lundy
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, was calm as the state prepared for the predicted tsunami. Mackenzie Sato, 17, watched the news as she did homework while waiting for the tsunami generated by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile. She first learned about the tsunami upon waking at 9 a.m. after checking the phone, which had two texts telling her to stay safe. Her parents had been up since 4 a.m. but Sato was not worried because her father, an avid waterman, said that by the look of things, nothing was going to happen. — Alex Min
Jaimie Young, 17 woke up at 7 a.m. on Saturday, ready for her tennis match. As she prepared to leave for school, she noticed a message on her phone from her coach. “Meet canceled because of tsunami. Stay safe, everyone.” Young found her mom and asked, “What tsunami?” Young and her family live in Pahoa Valley and fortunately did not need to evacuate. They spent the morning fixed on Hawaii New Now’s Hilo camera, freezing with every surge. “It was pretty cool,” Young said. “I was waiting for the big wave. You saw the water going out really fast and you thought, ‘It’s coming.’” — Andrew Ellison
For Caitlin Yoshina, a junior at ‘Iolani School, the tsunami warning began as a big deal. As a resident of Waikiki, Yoshina’s house was potentially endangered by the expected tsunami. “I had heard the 6 o’clock alarm,” she said, “but my parents weren’t awake yet, so I wasn’t sure.” She awoke again at 7 a.m. “This time I saw my parents were up. They were watching the news.” After hearing the news, Yoshina’s mother, Coleen, was concerned about their water supply. She had the family take early showers and brush their teeth. She boiled extra water just in case. — Lauren Wong
Alexander Min, 18, sat for four hours, reading, waiting at his home in Kahala. Living in a safe zone, he was not worried about the potential tsunami. The night before, when he heard the news about the quake in Chile and how that might cause trouble in our water, Min warned his friends who were going to be in a fishing tournament Saturday. Although he wanted to go to the beach on a nice day, “Better to be safe than sorry,” he said. — Mackenzie Sato
Tsunami sirens blaring, Andrew Zhou, 16, tried to get back to sleep. Zhou thought it was a siren test until, aroused by the sounds of people moving outside his door, he checked his text messages, which explained when his father had run out to get drinks. Friends and family cam to his Kaimuki home to take part in the impromptu potluck the tsunami inspired. — Kyle Twogood
For Brett Watanabe, 18, Saturday’s tsunami meant the evacuation of him and his teammates from the Maui Beach Hotel. He and the rest of the ‘Iolani baseball team had arrived at the hotel the previous day to compete in the Maui Invitational baseball tournament. The team members were evacuated to Maui High School, where they lounged and enjoyed food prepared by the high school cafeteria. The game scheduled that day was canceled. They left the cafeteria and arrived back at the hotel at 2 p.m., where they continued to enjoy their reprieve. — Janine Yim
Erin Lundy, 16, awoke at noon to the thunderous sound of her father’s voice talking on the phone about a tsunami. Even though her Kahala home is merely a block from the beach, she and her family did not feel the need to evacuate. In order to prepare, Lundy’s mother emptied the refrigerator of all their food. Even though the alert sirens were supposed to be heard clearly, Lundy could only hear a faint alarm in the distance. Once coherent, she stumbled to watch the news report. After the warning was cleared, Lundy, still glued to the television, saw the rough water rushing in and out of Hilo Bay. — Tiffany Tuisano
Sirens awakened Kaimuki resident Andrew Ellison, 18, in the early morning Saturday. He decided to go back to sleep. At 10 a.m. he woke up, met his family, and was told about the tsunami. Because Ellison is from the mainland, he was excited to see the wave. While watching the news for the next hour, he was worried about his family on the Hilo coast. While not in the inundation zone, his auntie owns a store right near the water, and she later unsuccessfully tried to fly out of Hilo. — Jaimie Young
The irritating wail of sirens awoke a sleeping Nicole Peltzer at 6 a.m. Her parents rushed into the room telling her that a tsunami could possibly hit the southern coastline. Peltzer, a lifeguard, was called down to the Hickam beach to keep people out of the water. Her father picked her up at 2 p.m., deciding that the risk to her was too great. — Brennan Miyasaki
For many, the tsunami meant evacuation and stocking up on water and canned goods. For Janine Yim, 16, it wasn’t any cause for concern. That day she woke up around 10 a.m. in her Aiea home, four hours after the warning sirens sounded. She first learned of the tsunami from her mother. Yim thinks that Mr. Tate Brown, ‘Iolani’s dean of students, called her home to say that the closing show of “Kiss Me, Kate,” the school musical, might be cancelled. Upon hearing this news, Yim went back to her room and slept for two more hours. — Brett Watanabe
While other beachfront homeowners frantically tried to be secure their belongings, Kyle Twogood of Kaneohe stayed home and played “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.”
“I didn’t hear the first two sirens,” Twogood said. “I slept really late, because I had been up playing games.”
After waking up at 11:30 a.m., Twogood checked the news for updates as his father ran out to buy extra toilet paper. “We have extra supplies in our attic, but the only thing we didn’t have was toilet paper,” Twogood said. — Andrew Zhou
On Friday night, Lauren Wong heard that an earthquake had devastated Chile, and she guessed that there would be a tsunami on its way to Hawaii. Lauren, 17, wasn’t very concerned when she learned about the tsunami warning on Saturday morning. She lives in Kaimuki, and she didn’t know anyone who would be in danger. Yet she still spent Saturday at her computer, keeping herself updated and periodically checking to see if the waves had hit any neighbor islands. — Caitlyn Yoshina
Many people in Hawaii worried about the tsunami and the damage it could cause. However, Allie Yuen, 17, found the tsunami not a threat, but focused more on the earthquake that had occurred in Chile. Her family took the tsunami warning more seriously. Paul Yuen, Allie’s father, went to the market to stock up on unperishable foods. Later that day, Allie’s grandparents, who live by the Ala Wai, went over to their home, in fear that the canal would overflow. — Aubrey Yamamoto
The 6 a.m. tsunami sirens woke up 17-year-old Aubrey Yamamoto in her Hawaii Kai home. Carol Yamamoto, Aubrey’s mother, explained to her disoriented daughter about the Chilean earthquake and the tsunami headed our way. The family spent Saturday morning at home with the TV tuned to the tsunami watch while their skittish dog pranced around the Hawaii Kai home, eyes bugging out and tongue active. — Allie Yuen
Loading ...