Hawaii apparently avoids tsunami destruction

Although some tsunami waves reached as high as seven feet as they crashed against Hawaiian shores, no major damage was reported in the Pacific state and the tsunami warning was downgraded to an advisory.

No deaths were reported.

However, some boats and other vessels were damages and many dead fish washed up on the shore of Maui, where six- to seven-foot waves were reported.

Waves at other parts of Hawaii were of lesser height, including 2.2 feet in Honolulu and 2.3 feet in Hilo.
Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC)said evacuation orders were lifted.

You no longer have to remain evacuated, but stay off the beach, the geophysicist said.

The PTWC has earlier forecast that waves, which arrived about every 15 minutes, were not going to be a major damaging event for Hawaii, but might produce scattered damage, especially harbors and coastal facilities.

According to the Hawaii State Civil Defense, Hawaii was first by tsunami waves at 3:07 a.m. (local time), or 8:07 a.m. (ET).

Reportedly, prior to the arrival of the tsunami, many Hawaiians went on a panic buying spree to stock up on provisions.

Malia Zimmerman, editor of Hawaii Reporter, wrote: “In Hawaii Kai where I live, the line at the Safeway supermarket circled the entire store and people waited as long as an hour to purchase basic necessities like water and cleaning supplies, such as Clorox bleach.”

She added that: “Down the street, drivers waited in lines an estimated quarter of a mile long for several minutes to fill up cars. The gasoline pumps ran dry by midnight…. My family and friends had to evacuate from their beachfront homes on the windward side of Oahu and on the island of Kauai to find shelter with friends, family and at schools in safe zones.”