Small Kine Tsunami


Chris and I set up our shade tent on an empty lot with a view of Kahalu`u Beach to watch for tsunami action. Just a little while after the tsunami was projected to hit (around 11:00 a.m.) we could see swells filling up the bay, then water receded. This happened several times over about a two-hour time span. It took about five minutes to fill the bay once it had been emptied. Watching the water recede was pretty fascinating- lots of rocks were protruding that I have never seen exposed and are usually under several feet of water. The tsunami occurred during a very low tide, I speculate this may have prevented water from rising too high and causing damage. It was interesting to watch. I think many of the people in our crowd on the hill wanted to see more action, but were happy, overall, that nothing got broke and no one got hurt. A tsunami generated from a 1960 Chile earthquake killed 67 (I think) people in 1960.

After 1:00 p.m. we decided it was safe to head to the coast so we blew past the civil defense guy who was supposed to be blocking the road to the ocean and we took a ride along Ali`i Drive. We took some close up pictures of Kahalu`u but the ebb and flow wasn't nearly as dramatic as it had been earlier. Ali`i Drive, which winds along the coast at sea level, was desolate. No cars, very few people, empty beaches, parking lots were void of cars and hotels were closed and gated. Quite a contrast to the practically bumper-to-bumper traffic I sit in on Ali`i Drive daily. I never knew a tsunami could be so peaceful.

Water drained from Kahalu`u Bay, leaving rocks exposed that are normally a few feet underwater. Second photo shows the bay filling back up. (click photo to enlarge)



After the biggest swells had struck, Chris and I took a ride to Kahalu`u (same bay as pictured above) and noticed there was still some ebb and flow. The two following pictures were taken just a couple of minutes apart: