Hawai'i Tsunami
Information Service

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• Tsunami Preparedness Information

• Preparedness

  Before an Event

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  Know the Signs

• Evacuation

  Where Should I Go?

• Risk

  Tsunami Risk Information

• Travel Time

  Tsunami Travel Times

This site has been developed by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in partnership with the State of Hawai'i.

For feedback, contact the NOAA Pacific Services Center

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Map Notes

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Remain at least 100 feet away from inland waterways and marinas connected to the ocean due to wave surges and possible flooding.

If possible, remove or deploy vessels to deep water (at least 200 fathoms).

Structural steel or reinforced concrete buildings of six or more stories provide increased protection on or above the third floor.

The evacuation zone is a guideline and should be considered the minimum safe evacuation distance.

These maps do not consider the destructive effects of a locally generated tsunami. If you feel shaking, move inland immediately, well away from the evacuation zone.

ATTENTION: O'ahu Island

The tsunami evacuation zone maps have been updated for O'ahu. These new maps were developed using updated scientific techniques and technology, and were produced in conjunction with County Public Safety Officials. The new tsunami evacuation zone maps for O`ahu can also be found on the Department of Emergency Management Website or the CCH Public GIS Ftp site, or in the 2011 Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages.

ATTENTION: Other Islands

These tsunami evacuation zone maps are identical to those located in the front section of your phone book. They are based on data from tsunamis that have hit Hawai'i in the past and represent the best information available at this time. The University of Hawai'i, under direction of State Civil Defense, is currently using the latest scientific techniques and technology to improve this information. Once this is complete, county governments will be able to update their tsunami evacuation zones, if necessary.

Kaua'i Civil Defense asks that where feasible, persons leaving the evacuation areas should proceed to at least the 100' elevation contour/level shown on the map in red, so as not to cause traffic congestion in or near evacuation zones.

Metadata

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Evacuation Zone Metadata

• Metadata (O`ahu)
• Metadata (Other islands)

Tsunami Preparedness

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You cannot prevent a tsunami but you can be prepared for one. Actions you take now could save your life and the lives of your friends and family in an emergency.

• Family Emergency Plan
• Emergency
  Preparedness Kit
• Evacuation Plan

Develop a Family Emergency Plan

Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance.

• How you will contact one another?


• How you will get back together?


• What you will do in different situations?

Developing a family emergency plan will provide your family with information that could save lives and protect property.

Make a Family Emergency Plan

Prepare for a Disaster

Assemble an Emergency Preparedness Kit

Emergency preparedness kits should contain the essentials your family needs to survive during a disaster. It may take 72 hours or more for emergency personnel to reach you. Don't wait, hundreds of other families in your area share the same concerns, and it will be difficult to get access to the necessities you need due to shortages and competition.

Recommendations For Disaster Preparedness Kit

Emergency Preparedness Kit Checklist

Plan for Evacuation

• If you live or work in a tsunami evacuation zone identify an evacuation route from your home or workplace. Identify a safe area outside the evacuation zone where you and others can safely congregate.


• After an earthquake, roads may become impassable or blocked so be prepared to evacuate by foot if necessary. Once you know your route develop the plan to evacuate. Consider securing your property, collecting pets, turning off the electricity and water, and bringing essential documents and emergency supplies.


• Practice this evacuation plan with others so when there is a tsunami all are prepared to act.

Tsunami Warning

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CURRENT TSUNAMI BULLETINS FOR HAWAI'I
NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

• Natural Warning Signs
• Tsunami Warnings
• Emergency Information

Natural Warning Signs

• Strong local earthquakes may cause tsunamis - If the shaking causes you to fall or have difficulty standing, this is your first natural tsunami warning sign. Protect yourself from the earthquake effects and when the shaking stops, leave the evacuation zones immediately.


• Receding Water - As a tsunami approaches the shoreline, it could possibly expose the ocean floor, reef, and fish.


• Seeing or hearing the water - You might see an approaching wall of water and/or hear a load roaring sound similar to that of a train or jet aircraft.

Tsunami Warnings

NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) has responsibility for tsunami monitoring and the subsequent issuance of any necessary watches or warnings for Hawai`i.

• Urgent Local Tsunami Warning - Danger! Run for high ground and follow emergency instructions. Damaging waves are probable and arrival time may be within minutes. Sirens will sound.


• Tsunami Warning - Danger! A tsunami is imminent or expected. Evacuate to high ground and follow emergency instructions. Sirens will sound.


• Tsunami Advisory - Possibly dangerous local currents. Move off the beach and stay out of the water. No sirens will sound.


• Tsunami Watch - Potential danger. Stay tuned for more information and prepare for possible upgrade to tsunami warning. No sirens will sound.


• Tsunami Information Statement - Relax. No local danger, but a distant ocean basin may be in danger. No sirens will sound.

To learn more about the tsunami warning system visit the NOAA Tsunami Website

Emergency Information

The Hawai'i State Emergency Alert System (EAS) is used to notify the public of a possible approaching tsunami. A steady three minute siren tone is the attention alert signal. Turn on the nearest radio or television and listen for emergency information and instructions.

In some cases not all radio or television stations may be able to transmit. As part of the EAS particular radio stations have been designated as primary sources for information. Click the link below to find out more about these stations.

EAS Radio Stations

The State and County Civil Defense Agencies test the EAS at 11:15 a.m. on the first workday of the month. When you hear the test sirens or your radio or television program is interrupted this is your opportunity to think about what you will do when it's not a test.

NOAA Weather Radio

Hawai'i State Civil Defense

Tsunami Evacuation

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If you are in a low lying area near the coast or in the tsunami evacuation zone during a significant earthquake get to higher ground outside of the tsunami evacuation zone immediately, a locally generated tsunami could reach the shore within minutes.

• Evacuation Tips
  and Information
• Local Civil
  Defense Agencies

Attention Boaters and Surfers!

Evacuation Tips and Information

• Concrete and/or steel reinforced building of 6 or more stories that are not damaged by earthquakes should also provide safe shelter above the third floor.


• Remain outside the zone until the All Clear signal has been issued by local civil defense authorities.


• In the case of a distant source tsunami a Tsunami Warning will be issued three hours prior to the estimated arrival time. If you are in the evacuation zone when the warning sirens sound prepare to move inland or, if you have access to a concrete and/or steel reinforced building of 6 or more stories move above the third floor.


• You may want to walk out of the tsunami evacuation zone to avoid traffic gridlock.


• If located outside a tsunami evacuation zone, stay outside of the evacuation zone and limit all non-emergency travel. Do not use your telephone or cell phone except for emergencies.


• All public schools in tsunami evacuation zones have emergency evacuation plans in place in the event of a Tsunami Warning.


• Have preparations in place to care for your pets in case you are ordered to evacuate. Contact your veterinarian or the Hawai'i Humane Society for more information on pet arrangements.


• Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance.

Local Civil Defense Agencies

See your local civil defense agency for specific information on tsunami shelters and other specific evacuation instructions for your community.

Kauai Civil Defense Agency

City and County of Honolulu Department of Emergency Management

Maui Civil Defense Agency

Hawai'i County Civil Defense Agency

Attention Boaters and Surfers

Boats are safer from tsunami damage while in the deep ocean rather than moored in a harbor or bay. U.S. Coast Guard guidelines suggest deployment to water depths of at least 1,200 feet (200 fathoms).

Tsunami waves cannot be surfed. Contrary to popular belief tsunamis do not curl or have a surfable face, rather they are more like a rapidly rising tide or wall of water that are often full of debris. Never attempt to ride a tsunami.

Tsunami Risk

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To reduce your risk you must first understand the tsunami threat.

• What is a tsunami?
• Understand the Threat

What is a tsunami?

A tsunami (Japanese for "harbor waves") is a series of ocean waves produced by a sudden rise or fall in the earth's crust, most commonly caused by an earthquake or underwater landslide. In the open ocean tsunami waves cannot be seen or felt by ships or airplanes because the unbreaking waves are actually hundreds of miles wide with a height of only a few feet. But as the waves approach the coast their height increases dramatically and can be very destructive when they reach the shore. To learn more about tsunamis visit the following website.

NOAA Tsunami Website

Understand the Threat

• Tsunamis are Hawai'i's number one natural disaster killer.


• All low-lying coastal areas, harbors, streams, and rivers in Hawai'i are vulnerable to tsunami impacts.


• Tsunamis can occur at anytime. Earthquakes and/or landslides that may trigger tsunamis cannot be forecasted.

Locally generated tsunamis resulting from earthquakes or landslides within the Hawaiian Islands can arrive at the coast within minutes, even before a warning can be issued. If you are near the shore and feel the ground shake move inland to higher ground immediately. The Hawaiian Islands are also vulnerable to Pacific-wide tsunamis. These tsunamis result from distant earthquakes and/or landslides in places like Chile, Alaska, and Japan and can arrive in Hawaiian waters within hours.

To understand your individual risk, find out if the places you and your family live and work are in or near the tsunami evacuation zones. These maps are available from this website and in the front section of all phonebooks. To learn about historical tsunamis that have impacted Hawai'i visit the following websites:

Pacific Tsunami Museum

NOAA Historical Tsunami Information

Tsunami Travel Time

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• Locally Generated
  Tsunamis
• Distant Source
  Tsunamis

Locally Generated Tsunamis

Locally generated tsunamis can arrive along our coastline within minutes of a significant earthquake. Earthquakes and landslides off the Kona coast of the Big Island pose a serious local tsunami hazard for Hawai'i. This map shows modeled arrival times (in minutes) of the first wave of the tsunami. The tsunmi would reach the Kona coast within 5 minutes, and the southern shores of Maui, Moloka'i, and O'ahu in less than 30 minutes.

University of Hawai'i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology

Distant Source Tsunamis

Distant source tsunamis may take several hours to arrive on Hawai'i's shores. The April 1, 1946 Pacific-wide tsunami was caused by a magnitude 7.3 Ms earthquake that occurred south of Unimak Island, Alaska. The first waves arrived in Hawai'i in under 5 hours causing extensive destruction along the shorelines of the Hawaiian Islands. Wave heights across the Islands reached an estimated maximum of 55 feet, 36 feet and 33 feet on Hawai'i, O'ahu, and Maui, respectively and reached a half a mile inland in some locations. A total of 159 people were killed as a result of the tsunami in Hawai'i, 96 in Hilo alone, where the city`s entire waterfront was destroyed.

Historical Travel Time

Estimated Regional Travel Time

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