Saturday 27 February 2010

Time to consider evacuating

I don't live right on the coast but my place is nearby and in the evacuation zone for tsunamis and the latest news is a little ominous:

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/messages/hawaii/2010/hawaii.2010.02.27.104650.txt

I'm getting things together and preparing to evacuate. I was planning to work in the garden on Saturday but think I might put that plan on hold for a day or two.
"A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE
ALONG
COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII.
URGENT ACTION
SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND
PROPERTY."



8 comments:

Zuzana said...

Oh no! Please be safe, I will be checking back for updates.:(
Zuzana

Tom said...

No update apart from there really does seem to be a tsunami on the way. Civil defense sirens will go off at 6am and that's when people will be asked/told to evacuate.

This is such a surreal experience yet it had to happen one day.

Tom

Hilary said...

Wishing you safety. Please take care and keep up posted if/when you can. Sending best thoughts.

Keera Ann Fox said...

Like the others, I'm wishing you the best (I'm wishing you eventlessness, actually), and updates as soon as possible.

Even if the waves didn't reach your house, I imagine they could take out roads and leave you stranded, which isn't helpful. How are the cats taking all this?

Tom said...

I'm not sleeping and according to some, Hilo town is buzzing. This is a place that goes to sleep at 9pm most nights.

Other than that you wouldn't know anything was wrong. The cats are as annoying as ever and not a peep from any of my neighbours.

I'll make sure they know in a few hours.

The civil defense sirens are due to go off in a couple of hours. It won't matter, the nearest one is so far away I can only hear it on the very odd occasion when the wind is just right. I'm interested to see if civil defense and the police come down my way soon.

Tom

Keera Ann Fox said...

See, you might want to wait until the cats decide to head for high ground. ;-)

No, take it all seriously. It's better to meet a false alarm well-prepared than to be surprised by a disaster.

I have no idea what I would do in such a situation. I feel very lucky about where I live: Disastrous nature events rarely hit us here.

Tom said...

This is a bit new for me too! I got used to the lightning strikes and tens of inches of rain in one go, but a tsunami is a bit different.

To be honest, everyone who lives here knows we'll get one again but it's a bit of a shock when it actually happens. And we still don't know if it'll actually happen.

Last big warning was in 1994 I think - the biggest wave was a few inches high. It damaged people's perception of the threats people live with here.

In 1946 and 1960 the waves killed hundreds of people on the island. Some were killed because they didn't take the threat seriously.

Whatever happens, I have to say that the last few months have been the most intense I've ever known. I'm sure there's another word I should use instead of intense, but can't think of it right now.

Suspense is the one I can use for right now!

Tom

Keera Ann Fox said...

Tense would also describe it. Keeping fingers crossed for you and the furgirls!