Pat G

Leiladylei, I'm so happy to hear from somebody else who was there. I understand the term "lateral evacuation" but with thousands of people in high rise hotels in Waikiki, how is it poss to evacuate anybody? Even towns in other beach areas. Where can they possibly go? I thought all kinds of possibilities all night trying to think of a plan. That's just me. Always need to plan. I am so truly grateful things went well for all of us.

Melrose R

I'm so sorry for your loss. And I'm glad you are home too! I can't imagine being away from home under those conditions.

leiladylei54

Pat G, not to worry.....it seems to me that Hawaii has good plans in place when it comes to evacuation with worries of Hurricanes and Tsunamis. Only in the case of tsunamis, we don't have as much time (only hours) for evacuation like days notices like hurricanes. But the maps for evacuation zones were redrawn and distributed last year (on the Hawaii tsunami website or in the front pages of the local telephone directory) taking into consideration the tsunami of Indonesia with an additional cushion of distance when the new evacuation zone maps were re-drawn. The Hawaii Hotels and Tourism industries have worked hard on evacuation plans for their hotels and guests. Going upwards your hotel protects you from the tsunami that could hit in the lower levels of the hotel. Police, Fire, Ambulance and all the necessary officials of their respective affected City and State Departments hunker down in what is called the Emergency Operating Centers monitoring the situation and keeping abreast of the latest info received from the Pacific Tsunami Center OR NOAA. The Governor or Mayors of each county (island) keep their residents and tourists safe with periodic messages on the television or radio. The sirens were that were sounded every hour was to alert people to a situation to either get the info from the tv or radio. The police department sent officers in their patrol cars to clear streets and homes in the evacuation zone using their sirens and bullhorns. The major point being in the case of tsunami is to get to higher ground whether it be moving upwards in your hotel (as your hotel directs) or getting further upland inwards to a higher elevation if you are in an evacuation zone. There are always those who don't heed the warnings but rather want to "see" what is happening and flock to the ocean. NEVER do that. Trust the officials to monitor the situation, feed the public the information and evacuate if necessary. Do NOT over worry and panic. PM me and I can give you more info.

Pat G

Thank you so much for the info. you've given. Everything you said is exactlly what happened. TV news told us to trust the hotel people to know what to do. I ck'd the evac. map in the ph. bk. but I knew that wasn't going to help us in a hotel. That 14th floor was reassuring though as long as the bldg stayed up.
We lived in Pearl Harbor our last 2 yrs. in the Navy but never had to deal with a disaster. I didn't panic since I'm more a planner & needed to know what to do since my son, DIL, & 3 yr old were with there, too, & my concern was for them. Heck, they slept through the whole thing after I warned them. LOL.
If I have any further questions, I appreciate your offer to ans. me. I love Hawaii & plan to return sometime.
Forgot to mention that even though people were warned to stay out of the water & away from the beach, there were 3 surfers out the next morn. when things were still risky. Now that is dumb.