April is Tsunami Awareness Month
Tsunami Awareness Month was created to raise awareness, educate, and remember the 158 lives lost here in Hawaii from April 1, 1946, Tsunami.
Knowing your tsunami history is essential to understanding the hazards these events create and the areas on our islands that have been impacted.
Seventy-seven years ago, on April 1, the most destructive tsunami in United States history struck the Hawaiian Islands. It originated from a shallow, powerful M 8.6 earthquake 2240 miles (3605 km) north of Honolulu, along the Aleutian Trench, where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the North American plate. The waves travelled at an average speed of 490 miles per hour (790 km/hr) before hitting first the northern coasts, then refracting around and through the island waterways. With no local tremors and before modern warning systems, the population was caught by surprise. The water reached as high as 55 ft in some locations, with 10-30 ft runups not uncommon. Because of the island and submarine topography, the wave height and damage at the coast was highly uneven. 158 people were killed, the majority on the big island of Hawaii.
Since the 1990s, Hawaii has used April as Tsunami Awareness Month. Federal, State, and Local government agencies, the Pacific Tsunami Museum, and other non-profit organizations team together to sponsor awareness and outreach events aimed at sustaining awareness.
▶️For more Hawai‘i Tsunami information:
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