Friday night in Hawaii turned out to be pretty intense. Well, more than intense. Around 10:30pm that evening, George called me to tell me of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled Chile. We quickly discussed a possible tsunami which turned out to be a reality and fears abounded. I started charging batteries and getting camera gear ready as I knew work would start quicker than I imagined.
Sure enough, around 12am, Jaymes, the local AP chief, sent out a text putting local AP staff and contractors on red alert as the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center released a tsunami warning for the State of Hawaii based on the massive quake across the Pacific. I couldn’t help but to think about the tragedy experienced in Banda Aceh in 2004 and feared, for good measure, the same might fall upon Hawaii.
The shot above is from my 2005 series of work from Banda Aceh a week after the Asian tsunami destroyed many coastal cities around the globe. Amazing the power of water and the destruction it can do.
Jaymes sent me out to shoot the PTWC and the operations monitoring the tsunami waves traveling across the Pacific. Before I went out to work, I made sure to fill up with gas, purchase bottled water and a few cans of soup as I knew once dawn broke, the citizens of the state would be on the go and would make a run on supplies. As expected, as I was entering Ewa, I saw how insane the lines were at the gas stations and how people were flooding the 24 hour grocery stores. Hundreds of cars lined the roads at gas stations stocking up on gas in the event a disaster hit.
I got to the PTWC, got my shots, transmitted, got confusing orders to get on a plane to Hilo but glad I didn’t as the Hilo airport shut down around 6. Got back home, shot a few shoppers at the grocery store and waited for dawn. Heard the tsunami sirens blow at 6AM. I was shaken by hearing that wail break the silence of the dawn. I knew at from the sirens, as canny as this sounds, it was no drill. We were up for the real deal at this point.
I ran back out to the Waianae to shoot the homeless being pulled off the beach. That was tough. Many of those people have no where to go, no way to get there, and in most cases, faced loosing all they owned if a wave were to wash away their tent camping sights. Star Bulletin photographer Jamm was brought to tears after spending some time with a homeless guy on a wheelchair. The homeless man refused to leave the beach and his makeshift tent because he was afraid other homeless would come and steal his canned food and small possessions from his home on the beach. Jamm felt, by leaving this man, he was leaving this half blind, chair bound man to his fate on a beautiful beach in Makaha.
The homeless fascinated me as so many of them felt they were being pushed off the beach and wouldn’t be allowed to return. Many ignored the sirens and bullhorns announced evacuations from the beach. Strangely one woman told me she didn’t believe the state, and as she raised her hands to the heavens, she said if God wants to take me, I can’t stop him. I’ll leave when God wants me to. Fatalism echoed deeply in her words and it became apparent many of the homeless mirrored her feelings. Being homeless and owning nothing seems to makes one believe in nothing other than the hand of God. Another man and his family waved off the idea their tents would be lost if the waves came. He said, “what do we own? Nothing we can’t replace.” My materialism was questioned. Yet, having some sort of desire to live or better your situation might be a higher goal to achieve than waiting for the God to deal you a better hand.
After a bit of time in the Waianae, I rushed off to Ala Moana Beach park and captured empty beaches and quiet streets. I ran into into a lone Japanese family sunning on the beach and I tried to warn them of the danger but they couldn’t speak a word of English. I said tsunami, pointed to the ocean, and declared “abunai!” meaning dangerous. They clearly got my message and started off for their hotels. I kinda thought they would have figured it out seeing all the police, hearing the sirens, and how empty the beach was.
As the zero hour approached, I rushed off to the balcony of the Illikai Hotel where I waited for something to happen. I planned ahead before I left the house as I put my bike in the back of the car to make sure I could get around if things got sticky. I parked on the second floor of Don Quixote grocery store and rode down to Waikiki. I surely feared for myself if waves really were to wash up as they did in Banda Aceh. I can only guess that I might not have been as safe as I thought exposed on that balcony if waves and debris has washed up that close…or for that matter, that high. I was only feet away from loads of boats in the Hobron harbor.
I linked a video put together of the Banda Aceh tsunami waves washing through the city. I feared we were destined to the same fate.
Video here.
I really feared a situation where all of the beach were to suck out and push in with me on a bike and the world lapping at my feet. I didn’t take my situation lightly as I had to weigh what I was doing…am I a journalist or a citizen? Several professionals rushed out of the danger zones fearing the worst. No story is worth your life but as Mark Niesse said, as journalists its our job to be in the middle of it all. He rented a ocean front room in a top hotel and awaited the waves. He surprised me at his dedication and audacity to push it to the limits. Phone in hand, he was ready to report to the world all he saw. Well, its really not a surprise as he seems to always be at the ready.
At the last second before the waves hit, I got pulled out of the danger zone and was sent to the Civil Defense bunker at Diamond Head in the event of massive damage to the state. I was chosen to fly out with Governor Lingle on a Blackhawk helicopter as she would fly out to assess the damage. Luckily, it didn’t happen.
Around 2pm, the state called off the warning signaling an all clear. We did experience some inundation of waves in some areas but there was no reported damage or loss of life. The TV news broadcast from Hilo showed water ebbing in and out of the harbor giving viewers a sinking feeling a rush of water was next…but it just didn’t happen.
As much as we were in a complete danger zone, we, as a scientist from the PTWC stated, dodged a bullet. A bullet I am glad to see not hit us. The damage would have left scars for years to come.
I do have to note my joy in waking up on Sunday morning from a deep sleep (imagine, I worked roughly a 15 hour day with no sleep on Friday) and seeing my shot on the front page of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. As luck has it with me and my camera, the surfer just so happen to be walking on the beach just below me from the Diamond Head lookout. I had just left the bunker after the all-clear was issued. I needed a shot to show life was back in order, at least life back in order, Hawaiian-style.
