Hawaii Earthquake, News From the Big Island

By: Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:25:22
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The 6.6 Hawaii earthquake October 15, just a tad after seven am in the morning was on Kona side of the Big Island of Hawaii, we live on Hilo side. I got up to get my morning coffee, and being a Southern California native, as the house began to shake I knew exactly what it was. Our house seemed to breath with the movement as major beams shifted and stressed. We could hear crackling throughout the house as the hanging lamps swayed. The Big Island has an active volcano so we experience small earthquakes tremors quite often, but a 6.6 is quite a hefty jolt.

Our little animals, Gracie, Charlotte (the cats) and Maxwell (the dog) kind of freaked out. While the ground was shaking I saw Charlotte by the window looking frantically into the house as if to say,

"HEY! Do you see what is going on out here? LET ME IN! I PROMISE not to eat Iki!! " (the bird).

I could only stand there under the doorway of protection not knowing just how bad the quake might become. After the second aftershock we went outside to connect with Gracie, Maxwell and especially Charlotte. They were all very needy and wanted special pats and attention. Hours later they seemed to have forgotten the whole ordeal.

News reports interviewed a lot of people who worried we had been hit by North Korea. Tourists ran from the beaches to higher ground, worried about a tsunami, which was probably a very good idea. No tsunami was to be expected it was later announced.

Television stations were down except for a couple. News began to come in speaking only of minor degrees of damage to houses and roads with fallen trees, in time that evaluation would elevate.

The power on Big Island was lost to approximately 45,000 people, 58,000 on Maui, and 291,000 on Oahu. Lines formed down the block at ABC Stores on Oahu, people were allowed in by fours to purchase water, snack items and batteries. They also lined up at Subways to get food before they ran out. Other restaurants tried to sell their goods quickly because of the loss of refrigeration.

Newscasters requested that people not drive their cars or use their phones. Outgoing flights were cancelled but people still flocked to the airport perhaps wishing for a quick retreat.

The nearest town to us is Pahoa, less than two miles away. We had no idea how the main-street shops, built around the twenties, had fared. I drove through it yesterday though and it all looked as quaint as ever. I did not talk to shop owners to see if there was damage I had not noticed. The Post Office was as packed as usual so I guess life goes on in Pahoa past the Hawaii earthquake.

The local news now shows pictures of roads with huge cracks and even a historic church made of stone now crumbled in a heap. A Hospital was forced to move patients to another facility due to earthquake damage. One question that remains unanswered is what the affect this will have on our active volcano if any.

Last night, October 16th we had a 'huge' thunder and rain storm. News alerts broadcasted flash flood alerts. You might imagine, Iki (the bird), Maxwell (the dog), Gracie and especially Charlotte (the cats) had a very restless night and probably wonder if the Hawaii earthquake was causing the sky to fall. Not to worry though I just fed them a lovely breakfast and everyone seems fine, including Iki (the bird).

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