Intrigue, concern, and fun in the sun dominate North Shore evacuation

NORTH SHORE—Having grown up on Hawaii Island, I’ve heard about many tsunami warnings throughout my life. But Saturday was the first evacuation I had ever been a part of. So when I heard the tsunami alarm go off at 6:00 a.m., the possibility that it was an actual alarm didn’t even cross my mind. I assumed, irritatedly, that it was accidentally set off somehow. When I got up again around 6:30 a.m., I finally looked at the phone that had been ringing like crazy in the middle of the night and I finally thought that something may be going on. I called a friend back and heard the news—a huge tsunami would hit Hawaii in about five hours and I had to pack up and leave immediately!

We leisurely packed up a change of clothes and some food out of our fridge. I avoided Foodland thinking that it would be a madhouse, a suspicion confirmed when I later heard that there had been a line out into the parking lot. After calling a friend who lives up the hill in Pupukea we decided to go up there as we heard the angry yelling and honking as traffic sped up through Pupukea road right above our house.

The whole time I felt pretty unworried and confident that the tsunami was not going to hit and destroy our homes. One concern I did have though, was the idea of the North Shore rip-offs having a field day with everyone having abandoned their houses and ransacking any house they wanted to. When we left, we locked up a little tighter than we normally do. I also paid attention to my two dogs, the older Pit seemed un-phased while the younger Rottweiler seemed a little bit nervous. And that was the only thing that made me slightly concerned.

Heading up the hill, I saw the Foodland parking lot almost completely empty, a sight never seen at 9:00 a.m. Police were parked at Shark’s Cove, and a small crowd was watching along with a video camera about half way up Pupukea Road. In those couple of minutes driving along an empty Kamehameha Highway, it was actually quite beautiful. The ocean was eerily calm, there wasn’t a single car on the road, and not a soul in sight. It was a welcomed change from the usual madness of people on bikes, honking, sirens, and traffic so thick it takes me a few minutes to turn out of my street.

Our friend had a morning pool and hot tub party going on, without much mention of the tsunami. Every once in a while we heard that there were a few people surfing, or a couple of people unworried and still at home. Children were speeding around Pupukea on four wheelers, visiting friends and having fun with all the excitement.

At around 11:00 a.m. we finally drove down to the heiau overlooking Waimea Beach. The heiau was so crowded that cars were parked inside the heiau and were backed up down the hill and back up above the second Alapio. There were crowds of people watching and waiting, with many scattered in random groups through the bushes right along the cliff. They had coolers of beer, comfy blankets, cameras, and food laid out. We hiked through the bushes to find our own cliff front spot—all along my five-month-old asleep in the Ergo baby carrier.

We found a nice spot. We sat. We waited. We watched. We saw whales. We got hot, thirsty, and we left.

And that was it. Foodland re-opened at 3:30 p.m., the crowds disappeared from Pupukea, and the waves were huge the next day.

I guess the old saying “It’s better to be safe than sorry” is true. But still, the whole thing seemed pretty hyped up by the media, and friends and family in the Mainland were more worried than anyone I know here. I think who really makes out in times like these are stores like Foodland and Wal Mart, and anywhere where people can rush to and buy supplies. I realize that if something did happen, those people would be pretty happy they were prepared. Still, where do we draw the line between being sanely safe and prepared, and being duped by the hype and the drama that most media, and a lot of people, create.