This past Saturday (February 27), Hawaii recieved a tsunami warning! The tsunami was generated by an 8.8 earthquake in Chile!
1) It was 6am as I woken up by the tsunami siren!
Everyone in Hawaii hears a tsunami siren being tested every 1st weekday of the month at 11:45 am!
This sure wasn't a time for testing that's for sure!
This wasn't a test. Everything I learned about what to do in a tsunami warning is now going to have to be acted upon!
I turned on the radio to hear the news. I heard phone calls to the radio station saying certain parts of Oahu didn't hear a siren! So I called my parents (who live in another part of the island) to make sure! They were up even before the siren, and they heard the sirens!
I ducted tape the big drawer with all the papers, yearbooks, photo albums, etc.
I live near Puck's Alley. It's not next to the ocean, but it's not high up in the mountains either!
I'm not taking chances.
I put all my medicines, folders with important documents and other valuables in a grey plastic box. I also put some big water bottles in my bag!
Since the radio announced the tsunami will likely hit in 4-5 hours, and the buses are still running, I just took the bus up to Manoa Valley District Park. (otherwise, I'm walking up that hill towards UH)
Once there, I already saw a bunch of people getting off a big bus! Some of those guys told me they came from the homeless shelter in Kakaako!
It seemed like for some of them, it was their 1st time in that neighborhood. Some asked me where was the nearest store. I told them they would have walk about a few blocks "that way" (pointing east) until they see a big street (East Manoa Road).
About an hour later, I saw the same guys coming back with stuff from the store. I was happy that they were able to find it!
I just sat on the bench near a tree, near the bathroom. Perfect.
I stayed on the bench for a few hours! There were no radios, TV, or internet, so we were isolated from the world!
About 1am, I saw people from the surrounding neighborhoods using the park like a normal day!
About 1:45 , I got a call from my mom, mentioning the governor gave the All Clear signal!
Time to go back to normal! And I saw those from the homeless shelter going back to their big bus. I just took the city bus back to my apartment!
2) We were lucky.
But next time, we may not be so lucky! So the next warning, I'm not taking chances. I'm going back uphill to Manoa Valley District Park again!
We're also lucky that we got an early warning!
4) The people of Chile weren't so lucky. Building and freeways crashed down and many are trapped inside!
Hopefully, they can all recover and go back to normal again!
