‘Significant’: South Kona shaken by magnitude of damage caused by major quake

The extent of a mangled mess a major magnitude-6.0 earthquake made became clearer throughout the day Saturday, May 23, as daylight revealed a slew of damages Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno called “significant.”

Especially in South Kona on the west side of the Big Island near the epicenter of the quake that struck shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, May 22, about 8 miles south of Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo on the west flank of Mauna Loa volcano at a depth of about 14 miles below sea level.

Homes and businesses alike within about a 25-mile radius from the terrible temblor’s center felt the worst of the shaking, with those in an even tighter area of about 14 miles around the center reporting the most intensity.

That includes communities such as Captain Cook, Kealakekua, Ho‘okena, Miloli‘i, Ocean View and of course Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo, as well as Manukā State Wayside and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.

Magno said some of the damages reported — while fortunately none were life-threatening — were pretty intense. Several residents in the South Kona area reported Saturday to Civil Defense that their homes received structural damage, including interior cracking, broken windows, cracks in decking and more.

One home was reported to the county as being shaken off its post-and-pier foundation so badly it was no longer safe to stay in, so the county put American Red Cross in touch with the family for assistance.

There were at least a few more reports on social media about homes being knocked off their foundations or even worse.

Kaʻū Propane closed early Saturday so it could help neighbors and friends with recovery efforts: “Unfortunately, their house collapsed on its post and pier,” the business posted on Facebook.

A commenter replied that the home of their parents was in the same situation and they were unsure if it could be saved. Another commenter said their home came close to being thrown off its stilts during the earthquake.

“That was intense,” the commenter said. “I pray for all of you who had it worse.”

One Facebook poster asked people to pray for a family member whose home was a complete loss.

Big Island Now reached out to a couple of the posters for comment, but replies of it being too early to talk about the destruction they experienced — from one of the largest earthquakes to strike the island in probably nearly the past 10 years — were a testament to how much the temblor impacted lives of those in the hardest-hit areas.

Others residents had to call plumbers out overnight Friday into early Saturday morning to shut down water connections and respond to other issues caused because of the earthquake.

Magno said Hawai‘i County Department of Water Supply reported all of its systems remained intact and functioning after the quake, but there were individual homes having issues from impacts.

There also were reports on social media of water tank plumbing being broken and neighbors trying to help find assistance for their friends. Another post said some people’s water tanks were drained when the seam of their liners exploded because of the quake.

About 1,000 Hawaiian Electric customers in South Kona lost power because of the shaker, all of whom were fully restored before 7 p.m. Saturday.

Magno said some homes even had power lines completely severed and there were reports of downed utility lines throughout the area. There also was the possibility of some damaged electrical transformers.

Many other damages were reported to the county and throughout social media, from furniture falling over and being strewn about and items falling out of pantries and cupboards as well off shelves and countertops to broken glass, pictures and other items falling off walls and even portions of roofs caving in or falling.

“Power was out for an hour or two and my kitchen is trashed, but we are safe,” posted Katrina Zavalney of Hōnaunau, who also stopped by Hōnaunau Elementary School where she works and reported it weathered the quake OK, for the most part.

The cafeteria ceiling was a bit damaged, but manageable, and a bucket of marbles fell over in the resource room.

“So I guess you can say we lost our marbles!!,” Zavalney wrote. “Some [fourth-graders] helped clean them up, so we are good. Grateful it was not too bad!! What an experience!”

Kristina Anderson, who lives near the quake’s epicenter, reported on Facebook that she and her household are OK. The house and cars also got through the temblor fine, but everything fell off the walls.

“Pictures, TVs, glassware, dishes, bookshelves, computers all destroyed,” she wrote. “Absolutely terrifying to have everything crashing down around you! We thought the end had come. Power out. Rocks and boulders everywhere on the roads and highways. Clean up will take days.”

In an update to the post Saturday, Anderson said some of her neighbors didn’t fare very well, losing water tanks or liners, and someone nearby had their house nearly walk off its pier foundation. Her home also suffered quite a few drywall cracks and gashes from furniture rocking back and forth.

Her contact lenses also went flying across the bathroom counter and she was only able to find one.

“It felt like a freight train full of rocks and bricks jumped its tracks and crashed right into us combined with a few [Shahed] drones all at once,” Anderson wrote, speaking about unmanned Iranian aerial combat vehicles. “It was spectacularly violent and we remain totally traumatized.”

Rock slides and landslides caused road closures and other headaches for drivers overnight, blocking portions of Highway 11 and Nāpōʻopoʻo Road in South Kona for several hours until crews could clear the large rocks and debris.

Piles of the material remained on the sides of roads, waiting to be cleaned up later.

Large rocks and boulders were also reported elsewhere in West Hawai‘i, along with rock walls that collapsed and other stone structures damaged.

“This was a wild earthquake,” wrote Jarrett Daniel Phillips in a Facebook post.

His family’s bread stand Bread Basket and More on Ke Ala o Keawe Road in Hōnaunau, close to the Painted Church intersection, had a massive boulder roll down and block the driveway. A rock wall also fell down on both sides behind the bread stand.

“No one got hurt, thankfully,” Phillips said Saturday afternoon. “And thankfully the boulder was not very round or else it would’ve rolled across the street, which would’ve hit the house across the road.”

He and his family live about 6 miles from the center of the quake, which he said lasted for about 15 to 20 seconds. Phillips, his wife Tina and their 5-year-old daughter Emma, who was sleeping, were home when the earthquake struck.

“When the earthquake first started, I jumped on top of my child … since I didn’t know if the house was coming down, and Tina jumped on top of our dog,” he said. “I watched my roof sway back and forth, we had large items in the garage topple over, our large refrigerator walked about a foot to the side and rock walls toppled over. It was very scary.”

Fortunately, they have a neighbor who works for the county and has excavators on his property. Phillips said the neighbor came by right away Saturday to clear a pathway around the boulder so they could get their cars around it before the neighbor had to go to a graduation ceremony.

He brought back a larger excavator Saturday afternoon to help move and break down the boulder, which was about 7 feet tall.

“We love our community,” Phillips said.

This is his wife’s last week operating the bread stand, however, as the family is moving to Colorado in 3 weeks. They are sad to leave, so Phillips said they took the boulder’s arrival, blocking them in, as a sign that the island doesn’t want them to leave.

The state also Saturday assessed bridges islandwide for any major impacts. Magno said Hawai‘i Department of Transportation officials reported all structures were stable and additional work, plus more inspections, will likely pick back up Tuesday after the long Memorial Day Weekend.

He and other Hawai‘i County Civil Defense staff plus other county officials continued to work at  the county’s emergency operations center though most of Saturday. Civil Defense also will do additional damage assessments in the coming days.

Call volume increased Saturday from light to about a medium level as more people began to report damages during the day.

Magno said his agency also received a good amount of damage reports online. He didn’t expect a big surge in calls or online reports Saturday, but said Civil Defense will likely continue to get reports as people — some of whom might not have been home during the earthquake, especially because of the holiday weekend — find additional damages.

People likely were cleaning up Saturday, especially where glass and other hazardous materials were involved, and making reports to their insurance companies, waiting to follow-up with the county.

His main concerns after the quake struck Friday night were whether a tsunami would be generated, if communications were still available and how bad the shaking was at and near the epicenter.

There was relief after the Pacific Tsunami Center said there would not be a wave generated by the temblor, especially with many people out and about as well as camping at beaches because of the holiday, and the areas most impacted still had communication capability as cell towers and other infrastructure remained undamaged.

Several businesses in the South Kona region also experienced damage.

KTA Super Stores-Keauhou Assistant Manager Ulyssis Arreola said his store experienced some minor damage, but not much. Just a small amount of items falling off shelves. It also did not lose power and was able to open at regular time Saturday.

KTA Super Stores-Kealakekua, on the other hand, was shaken enough that one person reported a crew stayed overnight Friday to clean up fallen and broken items and make sure the store could open Saturday morning.

Big Island Now reached out to the KTA Super Stores administrative offices for additional comment and information but did not hear back from anyone in time for this story’s publication.

Owners of farm, coffee shop and farmers market Aloha Star 100% Kona Coffee Farm in Captain Cook posted on Facebook that their house and coffee room suffered quite a bit of damage, “and we have a few days of cleanup ahead of us.”

“While we received some damage, we are incredibly thankful that we are [OK],” the business wrote. “We are currently able to continue our operations and fulfilment of orders. Thank you so much for all the messages, prayers and support; it truly means so much to us. Wishing safety for our neighbors and the Big Island community.”

A video on social media even showed shaking and items that fell off shelves and broken items at Walmart in Kailua-Kona.

Kona Community Hospital in Kealakekua also saw some minor damage.

Regional Director of Marketing, Legislative Affairs and Strategy for Hawai‘i Health Systems West Hawai‘i Region Jane Clement said the hospital did activate its emergency operations center and remained at Code Black status — indicating a serious emergency alert — with an incident command still in place Saturday.

The hospital’s computers were down for a short time but restored quickly. It also had some leaks in areas that were repaired right away and there were some minor cracks in places. Items fell off shelves from the shaking, which hospital housekeeping staff kept busy cleaning up overnight, some even staying a little longer to help.

A full damage assessment was being conducted, along with necessary maintenance and repairs.

“We don’t expect any big type of damage,” Clement said.

No injuries were reported by staff or patients and the hospital remained fully operational. Clement added that Kona’s sister hospital in Kohala experienced no damages.

While most of the hospital’s administrators were already at home by the time the earthquake struck, Clement said they all immediately called to check in with their teams to make sure everyone was OK. They also communicated with the staff throughout the night.

“In situations like this, our team at the hospital, they really do come together to support one another,” she said, adding nobody hesitated to help or stay a little longer to make sure everyone was safe. “They come together in times of need. That’s what it’s all about.”

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the cause of the magnitude-6.0 earthquake is thought to be stress from the bending of the oceanic plate from the weight of the Hawaiian island chain. It was not directly related to volcanic processes and did not impact Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes.

Magno on Saturday also reiterated — as with all earthquakes — there is still a possibility for aftershocks, several of which already happened Friday night following the major shaker.

“Aftershocks may continue to occur in the coming days but are unlikely to be large enough to be felt or cause damage,” said Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in an information statement Friday.

More than 7,100 Did You Feel It responses had been submitted by just before midnight Sunday, May 24, to the U.S. Geological Survey from people in communities throughout the state. The temblor was felt throughout the entire state.

Big Island residents and businesses are urged to report damages to Hawai‘i County. Damage reports will help the county identify priorities and focus resources if state or federal disaster assistance becomes available.

“This earthquake was widely felt across Hawai‘i Island, and we encourage anyone who may have been impacted to check your homes and businesses for damage, including to utilities,” said Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda in a press release. “Our staff at [Hawai‘i County] Civil Defense are waiting to receive your reports and our crews will be conducting on-site assessments to collect more data.”

The mayor also reminded residents to stay safe, stay connected and use all necessary caution when inspecting their properties, especially around gas and electrical lines.

Damage reports can be submitted at the following links:

• Residential damage.
• Commercial damage.

People can also call Civil Defense at 808-935-0031. Those who need assistance because of the earthquake can complete a Request for Assistance via Vibrant Hawai‘i.