| “People need to be prepared and be proactive.” | |
| Dolan Eversole, Hawaii Sea Grant | |
About four hours after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake devastated Japan in March, tsunami waves generated by the quake struck the western Hawaiian Islands, destroying homes and resorts, killing significant wildlife, and strewing toxic debris along protected beaches. While Hawaii’s coastal resource managers were well prepared for a tsunami event and no human lives were lost, lessons were learned that may benefit other managers in areas at risk from tsunamis, storm surge, or coastal flooding.
“We are very fortunate not to have suffered any loss of human life or other tragedy, as have the people in Japan, and for that we are very grateful,” says Barry Stieglitz, project leader for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuges. “But this tsunami was indeed a disaster at many levels, including for wildlife.”
Among the key lessons managers cite are the importance of ongoing public education and outreach; not just having a plan in place, but continually practicing it; and the need for better coordination and planning after an event, which should include everything from sounding the all clear to addressing the emotional needs of personnel, as well as having emergency regulations in place that ensure speedy rebuilding that results in a stronger and more protected shoreline.
“It’s not a matter of if a tsunami or other disaster will strike, but when,” cautions Dolan Eversole, Hawaii Sea Grant extension agent and NOAA Sea Grant Coastal Storms Program Pacific regional coordinator. “People need to be prepared and be proactive.”
Urban Impacts
The tsunami waves arrived in Hawaii a little before midnight on March 10, continuing through the early hours of March 11, says Stieglitz.
On the inhabited islands, five hours of warning was enough to move visitors and residents safely to evacuation centers or higher ground, says Quince Mento, Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator.
On the island of Oahu, 3-foot waves rushed ashore in Honolulu, swamping Waikiki’s beach and surging over the breakwall, but stopping short of the area’s high-rise hotels. On the western side of the Big Island—where most of the damage to urban areas occurred—10-foot waves damaged and destroyed homes and resorts, and inundated many areas with sand and debris.
Overall estimates of damage in Hawaii exceed $30.6 million, with more than $14 million coming from the Big Island alone.
Out in the Field
In remote research camps in the uninhabited Hawaiian Islands Refuge, which is part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, staff members and volunteers were having diverse experiences, says Stieglitz.
On Midway Island, 60 to 70 staff members and contractors were secured in the third floor of an air-conditioned World War II military bunker and were able to monitor tsunami waves in real time on island tide gauges. They maintained Internet access throughout the event and were able to follow online media reports.
“Everybody knew what to do,” says Stieglitz. “They had a plan that was rehearsed, and everything went very well.”
In the much smaller and more primitive tent camp on Laysan Island, where the highest elevation is a 30-foot dune, short-term researchers and volunteers waited for tsunami waves sitting in life rafts tethered to a metal emergency shelter wearing immersion suits to protect them from hypothermia should they be swept into the North Pacific. With limited communication, they waited for hours in the dark listening to the series of waves.
“They had a plan in place, but they did not rehearse it, and that was a problem for us,” Stieglitz says.
The experience of the tsunami and the resulting devastation on the island, which included the beaches being littered with unidentified barrels of toxic materials and old military munitions, was emotionally traumatic for some staff members and volunteers.
Although their stint on the island wasn’t due to end for several weeks, “we ended up evacuating them fairly quickly,” Stieglitz says. “You have to make people’s emotional well-being the priority.”
Wildlife Impacts
Wildlife in the refuge was also severely impacted, Stieglitz says. More than 110,000 Laysan and black-footed albatross chicks—about 22 percent of the year’s albatross production—were lost as a result of the tsunami and two severe winter storms in January and February. At least 2,000 adults were also killed. A number of other seabird species were killed, but their numbers are unknown.
Biologists are confident that, absent any other stressors, the albatross population could rebound from this event, Stieglitz says, but “we remain concerned about the compounding effect of this tsunami on the existing stresses of invasive species, global climate change, incidental mortality from longline fishing, and other threats to albatross and other wildlife populations.”
Practice, Practice, Practice
What consistently went well during the event, managers say, was not only having a tsunami plan in place, but actively practicing the plan.
“I think practice, practice, and developing good relationships with partner agencies so that you know them on a personal level before an event helps facilitate the process,” says Mento.
“I think we’ve got the before part down pretty good,” agrees Bethany Morrison, a planner for the County of Hawaii. “We just need to keep people educated and aware.”
Ongoing Education
Other managers also point to the need for ongoing education and outreach to a variety of audiences ranging from residents and government personnel to the media and hotel staff members.
“In gauging the success of our past outreach efforts, I believe there has been a positive impact,” says Ann Ogata-Deal, planning and policy analyst with the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program. “We held a training session focused on educating the media and hotel security. These are two very critical partners in tsunami mitigation.”
Eversole points to numerous Sea Grant outreach efforts as being important, including several hazards publications targeting county planners and engineers, as well as residents.
Ogata-Deal notes, “Just looking at things overall, it takes many years of work to see significant, long-lasting results. You can’t always point to one thing that made the difference in any hazard event. It’s more of the combined outreach efforts of many different people over extended periods of time that makes a difference.”
The Aftermath
Where more emphasis is needed, managers agree, is in planning for what happens after an event.
Mento cites the need for better statewide communication for determining when it is safe to go back to coastal areas and open beaches and marinas. “Varying definitions of ‘all clear’ took us by surprise. If people can’t go back to their businesses and homes, then it’s not all clear.”
There is also interest in being more effective in recovery planning and coordination, notes Gordon Grau, director of the Hawaii Sea Grant Program.
“I have been impressed with the degree of coordination among local and state and federal offices that focus on hazard preparedness, and on their highly positive interactions with NOAA and Sea Grant,” Grau says. “The recovery and rebuilding coordination is where we can still improve and are working towards that collectively.”
He adds that criteria for rebuilding need to be planned before an event so that the area comes back stronger and more resilient to future tsunamis or storms.
Better documentation of the damage immediately after the event is also needed, notes Morrison.
Almost Normal
Three months after the tsunami, the areas that were most impacted are “almost back to normal,” Mento says. “The recovery has gone pretty well.”
The lessons learned from this event are being incorporated into plans for the “next one,” Stieglitz says. “With global climate change, there’s more of an imperative now to be prepared for all these types of events. You have to plan, practice, plan for the aftermath, and practice.”
He adds, “We’ve learned a lot from past experiences and have really improved our response. Next time, we’ll do this a little bit better.”
For more information on Hawaii’s tsunami response, contact Quince Mento at (808) 935-0031 or qmento@co.hawaii.hi.us. For more information on research and wildlife impacts, contact Barry Stieglitz at (808) 792-9540 or Barry_Stieglitz@fws.gov. For more information on outreach efforts, contact Ann Ogata-Deal at (808) 587-2804 or aogata-deal@dbedt.hawaii.gov, or Dolan Eversole at (808) 956-9780 or eversole@hawaii.edu. For information on adaptation and rebuilding, contact Gordon Grau at (808) 956-7031 or sgdir@hawaii.edu, or Bethany Morrison (808) 961-8138 or bmorrison@co.hawaii.hi.us.
