Hawaiʻi County preparing for expected tsunami with roadblocks, evacuations, airport closure, shelters

Talmadge Magno, the administrator for Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, said no one needs to panic, but everyone should evacuate tsunami zones by 6:17 p.m. — a little less than an hour before the first waves are projected to strike the Hawaiian Islands due to a 8.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the east coast of Russia.

Hawaiʻi County has taken many precautions. Here’s what is happening around the island:

Hawaiʻi County has issued a mandatory evacuation for all coastal occupants. Roadblocks have been established at 180 locations around the island to prevent people from going into tsunami zone areas, Magno said.

Hawaiʻi County Fire Chief Kazuo Todd said the department has been responding to calls from people seeking help with evacuation. This includes helicopters airlifting six people out of Waimanu Valley.

Todd said all beach parks are closed and lifeguards have evacuated.

The fire department also has secured three of its stations that are located in tsunami inundation zones.

Hilo International Airport has suspended all incoming and outgoing flights to facilitate evacuation for Keaukaha across the runway, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation also said that all Hawaiian and Alaska flights are suspended from Kona. The airlines incoming flights are either delayed or diverted. There are no updates from any other airline operating out of Kona, the department said.

Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines said in a statement they are assessing their flight operations and holding flight departures to all the Hawaiian Islands.

“As a safety precaution, flights en route to Hawai‘i are returning to the mainland or diverting as needed,” the statement said. “Guests with travel to, from or within the Hawaiian Islands should check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

“We are monitoring airport conditions with government agencies and could see operational impacts. A waiver is in place allowing guests to adjust their travel plans. More information can be found on alaskaair.com.”

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port has ordered all vessels in the Hawaiian Islands to follow their procedures to leave port.

All harbors in Hawaiʻi have been closed to incoming vessel traffic. Vessels transiting within the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands or inbound to ports in Hawaii shall remain offshore until conditions subside. For more information, click here.

Many people in West Maui pulled their boats out of the water and parked them wherever they could on higher ground.

Hawai’i County opened several shelters around the island. Around 6:30 p.m., the shelter at Kealakehe High School was packed with about 300 people, both residents and visitors, according to the Red Cross.

For now, the shelter will not provide cots or water until it is known whether it will be needed for an extended time period.

As the sun was setting, some people brought binoculars and others had cell phones ready for the moment the tsunami would hit the coast.

Around 3:30 p.m., staff at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority started moving people off the shoreline in the park area just north of Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport.

By 4 p.m., a NELHA employee said the general public was gone off the shoreline and they were focusing on getting businesses and the employees in the park out of the area.

The last time the park closed according to the NELHA employee was about a decade ago when a tsunami that was triggered by an earthquake in Japan hit West Hawai‘i.

Residents and visitors appear to be taking the tsunami warning seriously on the Big Island.

A steady stream of cars was driving up Kaiminani Drive in Kailua-Kona at about 4 p.m. on Tueday to get to higher ground.

At about the same time in Hilo, Frank and Heather Montoya were stuck in traffic on Kalanianaʻole Street coming out of Keaukaha after a day at the beach with their niece. The traffic began to let up after about an hour in the car, giving them plenty of time to get to safety. 

“This was not how I expected to introduce our niece to the beach, but it’s an adventure for sure,” Frank Montoya said. “We are also right on the edge of the evacuation zone in Hawaiian Paradise Park, so we will probably go somewhere with the animals for the night.”