Speacl Ed 6 Paper

In this edition of the paper we will talk about the 8.8 earthquake of Chilie . Tsunami warning canceled, stay out of ocean due to possible sewage contamination

Hawaii braces for potentially damaging tsunamiBy JAYMES SONG, The Associated Press POSTED: February 27, 2010 Save | Print | Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.

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With a computer graphic showing the possible path of tsunami waves from an earthquake in Chile, Charles McCreery speaks on the phone at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Oahu on Saturday.EWA BEACH, Oahu --- A tsunami triggered by the Chilean earthquake raced across the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, threatening Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast as well as hundreds of islands from the bottom of the planet to the top.Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the potential waves. Nine small planes equipped with loudspeakers flew along the shoreline, warning beachgoers. On several South Pacific islands hit by a tsunami last fall, police evacuated tens of thousands of coastal residents.The first waves in Hawaii were expected to hit shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday (4 p.m. EST; 2100 GMT) and measure roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) at Hilo. Most Pacific Rim nations did not immediately order evacuations, but advised people in low-lying areas to be on the lookout.Unlike other tsunamis in recent years in which residents had little to if any warnings, emergency officials along the Pacific on Saturday had hours to prepare and decide on evacuating residents.''We've got a lot of things going for us,'' said Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues warnings to almost every country around the Pacific Rim and to most of the Pacific island states. ''We have a reasonable lead time.In Hawaii, boats and people near the coast were being evacuated. Hilo International Airport, located along the coast, was closed. In Honolulu, residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on water, canned food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations.''These are dangerous, dangerous events,'' said John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Emergency Management Department.The sirens in Hawaii will also be sounded again three hours prior to the estimated arrival time.Every TV was showing the news. Convenience stores and McDonald's and Burger King restaurants shut down. A few people were on the famed beach, including joggers on the sidewalk, but far fewer than normal. Most seemed to be watching the ocean.

In Hilo, officials cordoned off the first three blocks next to the beach. A few people watched the still ocean as a whale swam off the coast, but streets were mostly empty as tsunami sirens blared. Gas stations had long lines, some 10 cars deep.The SackNSave grocery store was filled with people buying everything from instant noodles to beer. Shelves with water were mostly empty, save a few bottles.''They are buying everything we got,'' clerk Memory Phillik said.Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said that leprosy patients from the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai have been moved to higher ground. Helicopters are standing by if the patients need to be moved to a safer area. The settlement is in an isolated area on a penninsula.In Tonga, where nine people died in a Sept. 29 tsunami, police and defense forces began evacuating tens of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that waves about three feet (one meter) high could wash ashore.''I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people,'' National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai said.On the island of Robinson Crusoe, a huge wave from the tsunami covered half the village of San Juan Batista and three people were missing, said Ivan de la Maza, the superintendent of Chile's principal mainland port, Valparaiso.A helicopter and a Navy frigate were enroute to the island to assist in the search, he said.A tsunami warning - the highest alert level - was in effect for Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands. An advisory - the lowest level - includes California, Oregon, Washington state, parts of Alaska, and coastal British Colombia.U.S. President Barack Obama urged people to follow instructions about tsunami warningsAmerican Samoa Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia called on residents of shoreline villages to move to higher ground. Police in Samoa issued a nationwide alert to begin coastal evacuations. The tsunami is expected to reach the islands Saturday morning.In French Polynesia, tsunami waves up to 6 feet (2 meters) high swept ashore, but no damage was immediately reported.Meanwhile, disaster management officials in Fiji said they have been warned to expect waves of as high as 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to hit the northern and eastern islands of the archipelago and the nearby Tonga islands.A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. Tsunami Center officials said they did not expect the advisory would be upgraded to a warning.Waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of Saturday's quake. A tsunami wave can travel at up to 600 mph, said Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager at the National Weather Service in Washington, DC.Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily damaged by a tsunami last year.In last fall's tsunami, spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake, also killed 34 people in American Samoa and 183 in Samoa. Scientists later said that wave was 46 feet (14 meters) high.The tsunami warning center said the waves reached the islands so quickly residents had only about 10 minutes to respond to its alert.During the devastating December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami, there was little to no warning and confusion about the impending waves. The tsunami eradicated entire coastal communities the morning after Christmas, killing 230,000 people.Past South American earthquakes have had deadly effects across the Pacific.A tsunami after a magnitude-9.5 quake that struck Chile in 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, killed about 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 in the Philippines. It was about 3.3 to 13 feet (one to four meters) in height, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.Japanese public broadcaster NHK quoted earthquake experts as saying the tsunami would likely be tens of centimeters (inches) high and reach Japan in about 22 hours. A tsunami of 28 centimeters (11 inches) was recorded after a magnitude-8.4 earthquake near Chile in 2001.The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning Saturday night for a ''potential tsunami threat'' to New South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Any wave would not hit Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said.New Zealand officials warned that ''non-destructive'' tsunami waves of less than three feet could hit the entire east coast of the country's two main islands and its Chatham Islands territory, some 300 miles east of New Zealand.

Seismologist Fumihiko Imamura, of Japan's Tohoku University, told NHK that residents near ocean shores should not underestimate the power of a tsunami even though they may be generated by quakes on the other side of the ocean.''There is the possibility that it could reach Japan without losing its strength,'' he said.The Associated Press' Mark Niesse and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Kristen Gelineau in Sydney, Chris Havlik in Phoenix, Ray Lilley in Auckland, New Zealand, Eric Talmadge in Tokyo, Alan Clendenning in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report. More on this story

WAILUKU -- Roused from sleep to the news of an approaching tsunami Saturday morning, Maui residents spilled onto streets and dashed to gas stations to fill up their vehicles.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning at 12:46 a.m. A tsunami was generated by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile at 8:34 p.m. (Hawaii time) Friday. The center estimated the first wave would arrive about 11:19 a.m.Civil Defense sirens sounded at 6 a.m.County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said people should move away from the shorelines and toward higher ground. No evacuation centers are open, she said.As the time for the tsunami's expected arrival closed in, people did move to higher ground. Traffic gridlock was reported on South Kihei Road and on roads Upcountry. The Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center in Pukalani was jammed with people and vehicles, a passer-by said.Shelters may be opened after the tsunami if there is damage that prevents people from being able to return to their homes, she said.In Wailuku, motorists trying to get gas at Uptown Chevron were lined up on Main Street up to the intersection of High Street where the State Building is located.At Kihei Gas, the line snaked up mauka on Lipoa Street to Kihei Elementary School and then makai by Times Supermarket and St. Theresa's Church.Janet Manibog, 57, of Kihei, was awakened by phone by her 19-year-old grandson around 2:30 a.m. She went back to sleep for a short while until another grandson woke her up again." 'Grandma, you need to get up he told me. This is not a game. This is not a drill. It's for real,' " Manibog said.Manibog said she was concerned that the 6 a.m. siren was not loud enough for people, particularly senior citizens, to hear in Kihei. "As I listened, it was very, very dull. ... I thought 'Oh my God, this is really faint.' "Manibog said she planned to head up to Maui Meadows and join family in higher ground. "I'm OK, a little shaky but I'm going to be OK."Jose Castellanos, a driver for The Maui News, said he had not heard about the tsunami warning until a newspaper carrier alerted it to him.The signs that something was different Saturday than any other day showed as early as 3 a.m. when Castellanos was delivering papers. "A lot of condos had their lights on, more than the usual," he said.He was heading out of Kihei by 3:45 a.m. and noticed a lot more traffic than usual. "Normally I don't even see cars on the the highways. Today there was a lot," he said.Castellanos said newspaper delivery went uninterrupted this morning.In Kahului, lines stretched out to the roadways at every gas station.Major Cockett from Wailuku waited in his car to fill up gas at the Tesoro station on Puunene Avenue around 5:30 a.m.He said he went to four other gas stations and found their lines too long. He waited behind three other cars as a line of vehicles backed up behind him on Puunene Avenue."I nevah sleep yet," Cockett said. He said he heard about the tsunami Friday night and stayed up all night to find out what was going on before he began calling relatives to alert them.Cockett said he was on his way to Kihei to pick up his niece who has a physical disability."I like make sure she safe," he said.Inside the Tesoro convenience store, there weren't any lines but a steady stream of customers, workers said.Tesoro worker Lynneth Damo said customers were picking up water and food."But the gas is making me crazy," she said, alluding to the lines outside.

The convenience store's manger Rosita Paragas said she was off today, but she went into work in case she had to close the store.Lines were at least 45 people deep at Safeway in Kahului, as people waited in line with cases of water and saimin along with nonperishable foods.Duane Pagay of Kahului said he got to Safeway around 5 a.m., and he and his family had to grab shopping carts from customers coming out of the store.He and wife, Johnalyn Lizada, had cases of water, bread, apples and snacks for their children.Pagay said he had already been waiting in line to pay for 45 minutes. There were still 20 more people in front of him.Ana and Sisiteni Tupou of Waiehu had two suitcases in the back of their van in the Safeway parking lot.They said they were heading to a park in Kula to meet with other family members.The Tupous had bought cases of water along with bread and other necessities to take with them to the park. They expected to meet up with 12 others at there.At McDonald's in Kahului, people waiting in line for their food kept tabs on the latest news on the tsunami from the television in the restaurant.Tourist Rita Delos Santos from Singapore, along with family and friends from Chicago and New York, sat in the restaurant waiting for their food.Delos Santos said members of her family had been staying in Lahaina when they were alerted by family and friends by cellular phone about the tsunami."We decided to pack up early," she said.So they drove from Lahaina to Kahului where they felt they were safer in town.They were also going to meet up with other family members.Delos Santos, who was making her first trip to Maui, said she wasn't afraid of the tsunami because she is originally from the Philippines."We're used to crisis," she said.At 5:30 a.m. there were no long lines at the McDonald's drive-through lane, but an hour later, the lines were at least six to seven cars deep.Lindsay Ball, the complex area superintendent for public schools in Lahaina, Molokai, Lanai and Hana, was on Oahu Saturday morning along with dozens of high school wrestlers entered in this weekend's state tournament."There a little bit of confusion here," Ball said by cell phone as he and the wrestling contingent were walking to the Blaisdell Center around 7 a.m. Saturday.Within the same hour, Ball said he and the Maui wrestlers got word that the state wrestling competition had been officially rescheduled to 8:30 a.m. Sunday."Everybody's working feverishly on the phone to change flights and make other arrangements," Ball said. He said many of the parents have been calling the wrestling coaches to check the status of their children, who, according to Ball, were safe and out of any harm's way of a tsunami."We'll have to se what happens with this tsunami," Ball said.Ball said he was prepared to cancel any events at schools within the tsunami zone. The only such campus in his complex area is Kamehameha III Elementary on Front Street in Lahaina.Ball received confirmation that there were no reservations made for use of the facility on Saturday.Christ The King School Principal Bernadette Lopez checked into her office at 5 a.m. Saturday after being alerted to the tsunami warning.Lopez said she used her time in the office to clear out any "critical" documents and to contact faculty and staff residing in low-lying areas to advise them of the tsunami."I'm real confident," Lopez said of her staff and students' response to the pending tsunami.She said a geophysicist from Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on Oahu visited her campus two weeks ago to provide information on tsunamis, including the cause of such natural phenomena and safety measures to take.A video of a tsunami on the Big Island was also shown to the students and staff at Christ The King School on the corner of Wakea and Puunene Avenues, which is a designated low-lying area that would be evacuated in the wake of a tsunami."The message was to stay calm," Lopez recalled Saturday morning. "The idea was for the students to also be empowered that they could help their parents and provide correct information."Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina also recently received a visit from a tsunami expert and with officials with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Like Lopez, Sacred Hearts School Principal Susan Hendricks said she was feeling confident that her students and families were well-equipped with dealing with the tsunami warning."I think they've been educated. They know not to panic," Hendricks said."The children have a plan, they have a list of stuff they need to have and all the information they need to deal with this."

Police, firefighters help Mauians get to higher groundPOSTED: February 27, 2010 Save | Print | Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.

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LAHAINA -- By 7 a.m., patrol officers in Lahaina had been working for several hours to evacuate beach parks and remote low-lying areas, said Capt. Charles Hirata, commander of the Lahaina Patrol District.Most people seemed to be aware of the tsunami warning.By 4:30 a.m., with many people heading from lower areas to the Kapalua-West Maui Airport, traffic was backed up on Akahele Road leading to the airport, said fire Battalion Chief Val Martin.He said there were plenty of other areas for people to move to higher ground. Maui Land & Pineapple Co. opened its mauka gates from Honokowai to Honolua, he said.Residents were being told to move to ground above Honoapiilani Highway. "Just go mauka," Martin said. "We're trying to get people above the highway."Lanai residents had already been evacuated from low-lying areas including Club Lanai and Shipwreck Beach, Martin said. "We're just going to have to see what happens."On Molokai, he said fire equipment and personnel from the Pukoo and Kaunakakai fire stations were moving to higher ground. "We want to be useful after the event," Martin said. "We don't want to be stuck in the mud."At the Kahului Fire Station, plans were under way to move equipment and personnel to the Fire Department's warehouse in the Waikapu light industrial area, said acting Battalion Chief Louis Romero.While the fire station on Dairy Road isn't in a tsunami zone, Romero noted that in the 1960 tsunami, water reached Christ The King Church, which is a few blocks away from the Kahului station."We just want to be safe," Romero said. "We don't want to be victims, we want to be responders."The Fire Department's Air One helicopter was being used to do reconnaissance of shoreline areas.In addition to evacuating people from lower ground, police officers were making checks of long lines at gas stations "to make sure people don't get edgy out there," Hirata said.He said officers who were working overnight were being held over at work, while other officers were being called in to work early.

Mayor Tavares advises residents to find higher ground, stay calm

WAILUKU -- Maui County residents should head to higher ground, stay off the roads and stay off phones as much as possible, Mayor Charmaine Tavares said Saturday morning.The county opened its emergency operating center at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, and all departments were present to coordinate emergency response, she said."We're implementing our emergency plan that we've been practicing many, many times," she said.At one point, the county's emergency center was unable to get regular telephone service or cell phone service because of the busy lines, she said.

However, the emergency center also has radio communication and satellite phone capability to keep communications open, she said."There's a lot of folks out there clogging up the highways and clogging up the phones," Tavares said. "We're having trouble, especially with the cell phone connection."Other points made by the mayor:> The county's Homeless Alliance is notifying homeless populations of the tsunami and helping transport the homeless to higher ground.> The Maui Bus will stop regular service at 8:30 a.m. Buses will be moved to higher ground but kept in position within the island's various districts in case they are needed.> The county's Civil Defense call center received reports that some civil defense sirens did not go off. The county is trying to verify the reports and get more information about where the sirens failed to sound.> The Hawaii Air National Guard has stationed a Black Hawk helicopter on Maui to assist with emergency efforts as needed.> The Civil Air Patrol is flying to remote areas to warn residents of the emergency.She reiterated that residents should head to higher ground before the tsunami strikes and "wait it out.""Don't panic, use your head and follow the directions of the emergency personnel," she said. "If they don't need to be traveling, don't. Seek high ground, and don't use the phones if you don't have to."

Kahului Airport, businesses get ready for tsunami

KAHULUI -- It was business as usual at Kahului Airport before the arrival of the tsunami Saturday morning, but around 10:30 a.m. airport officials would close down airport access roads Keolani Place and Amala Place, airport Manager Marvin Moniz said.Whoever is at the airport during that time will be taken care of and housed at the airport, he said.Moniz said the roads to the airport will be reopened depending on when the wave comes in and its intensity.Flights in and out of the airport were not affected as of 10 a.m., he said, although some airlines bound for Maui were slowing down in their flight paths in case they need to be diverted somewhere else.Earlier in the day at the airport, around 8 a.m., many travelers were arriving more than several hours early to either catch an earlier flight or wait out the tsunami warning.Maren Bakken of Minnesota and her family left their rooms at the Aston Kaanapali Shores around 3 a.m. and spent several hours driving around before arriving at the airport way early for their 7 p.m. flight to Dallas."What do we do?" Bakken asked.She said the family did not want to get stuck in West Maui and wanted to make sure they could make their flight Saturday night.Best friends Lynn Sleeth and Julia Rogers from California were also several hours early for their flight to California around 2:30 p.m.Rogers said she was awoken at 3 a.m. by a text message from her relatives in Pennsylvania. It told the women to take care of themselves, and it say the relatives were praying for them."We are wondering why they were praying for us, we thought we did something wrong," Rogers said."It's quite an experience," said Sleeth.The women were staying at the Pacific Shores condominium along South Kihei road and decided to go hunt for supplies several hours after the 3 a.m. text message.Rogers said she waited 15 minutes in line at Foodland in Kihei around 5:30 p.m.Costco in Kahului opened up two hours early at 7:30 a.m., said manager Jaime Havron.Costco continued to have a lot of water, batteries, and flash lights in stock, he said, adding that the store was getting a "fair amount" of customers.There were hardly any lines at Costco, the longest was for the take-out counter for pizza, drinks and hot dogs, which were about five people deep -- no where near the usual amount.But people were walking out with carts of water, batteries and even generators.Along Dairy Road, many businesses were closed such as Marco's Grill & Deli, along with shops at Maui Marketplace.

At Wal-Mart in Kahului, there were no long lines around 8:30 a.m., although store employees said they had a rush of people earlier in the morning.Wal-Mart staff sold flashlights, water bottles, radios and generators to the front of the store for easy access.The store opened at 5 a.m., an hour before its normally opening time.The Maui Seaside and Maui Beach hotels were closed at least by 8:30 a.m.A staffer at Maui Seaside said employees went to hotel rooms and even pulled fire alarms to alert hotel guests about the tsunami warning as well as evacuate from their rooms.Majority of guests had rental cars so they were able to evacuate to higher ground. Those who didn't have cars were taken by the hotel to a safer place, a worker said.At the Maui Beach lobby, its doors were closed.The two parking lots at the hotels were empty.

Tsunami warning canceled, stay out of ocean due to possible sewage contamination

Civil defense officials reported the tsunami warning for Hawaii was canceled shortly before 1:45 p.m. Saturday.The state's highest wave was reported at Kahului Harbor at 11:47 a.m., measuring 3.2 feet. There were no reports of damage from the multiple surges that rolled into Maui County shorelines around noon.Ocean users were warned to avoid entering the water in the following areas due to possible sewage contamination: the north shore, from the Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility to the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course; and West Maui in the Napili area.Signs have been posted at affected beaches and will be removed after county workers test water tomorrow and determine it is normal.Maui County officials restarted water and sewer facilities that had been shut down in low-lying areas ahead of the tsunami.Residents were asked to continue conserving electricity until 4 p.m., while Maui Electric Company was expected to bring its Kahului power station back online.Coastal roads, including the Kahului Airport access road, were reopened as of 1:50 p.m., and the Maui Bus resumed regular service.County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said flights out of Kahului Airport were reported to be back on schedule as of 2 p.m., after several flights were delayed earlier in the day.Makena State Park and Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve remained closed; however, Wainapanapa State Park in Hana was reopened.County beach parks remained closed until officials could make an assessment of conditions, Martin said.Waiehu Municipal Golf Course was scheduled to reopen on Sunday.All landfills on Maui remained closed Saturday, while landfills on Molokai and Lanai were open.At lookouts in Wailuku, observers could see the water level dropping in Kahului Harbor, followed by a surge that sent a line of whitewater up the harbor beach. A cloud of silt was visible in the harbor and grew larger with the subsequent surges, and observers saw choppy "boiling" water near the harbor mouth.

For more info will come abviable on the Earthquake and this on Sunday .