Tsunami Saturday

Loud sirens have been sounding every hour here on Alii Drive in Hawai'i. Everybody who lives within like 10 blocks of the beach is being evacuated due to the tsunami warning. We live on the ocean and have to pack up and get ready to evacuate. I can see the water from my house and the waves look no different than usual right now. But the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile this morning is apparently sending huge a wave that is supposed to reach here at about 11:15am (that's 1:15pm California time). All boats have been instructed to leave Hawaiian ports. I wonder where the cruise ships will go?

I already see trucks passing by the house loaded with stuff. Smart people are already taking their valuables to higher ground. All the beaches are closed, too. Even the tourist hotels, all on the beach, are being emptied. Evacuation buses are supposed to start running soon. I heard that gas stations are already crowded.

Everybody says the bays will be most affected. Hilo is in most danger, apparently, and the airport there is already closed down. The last tsunami to affect Hilo was also the result of a Chilean earthquake. That quake was a 9.5, the largest recorded earthquake in history. Waves in Hilo reached 35 feet and 138 people died. Luckily we live on the other side of the island. But I better start packing up becasue there are only a few routes up to higher ground. See ya.