Today was to be about Rapid Fire Learning ~ and that it was!
Saturday, February 27, 2010 became the ‘host’ of an unexpected event: A Tsunami advisory, then watch, then warning for us in Hawai‘i nei, sent by an 8.8 earthquake about 6,000 miles away in Chile. Here’s a sampling of my play-by-play tweets to remember the day this has been:
5:40am Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, its highest alert, for Hawaii. Follow @hawaiiredcross
6:17am Such a strange thing to hear…“If you are in a coastal area, leave your home assuming you cannot go back.” #hitsunami
7:15am Tsunami waves are not surfing waves or photo opps: Please prepare to leave coastal areas. Don’t put others in danger attempting to save you!
7:20am So many blessings to count, w/just short of 4 more hrs to prepare mālie~ calmly, w/ways science/ technology now help us be aware #hitsunami
7:50am I urge neighbor island tweeters to get necessary info out: Media coverage very O‘ahu centric, understandably per their resources #hitsunami
7:58am “A tsunami isn’t just 1 wave but a series, surging in/ out over several hours.” See inundation zones front pages of your phone bk #hitsunami
8:07am Mahalo friends for tweet-wishes and w/getting info out. Our ‘Ohana in safe place. We’re now preparing our home for others needing shelter
8:33am Think about traffic, go mauka early as you can w/calm: “All roads in coastal inundation zones will begin closing at 10am HI.time” #hitsunami
9:17am 6ft wave in Marquesas lowering forecast, but not enough to put Hawai‘i harbors/coasts out of danger: Continue your preparations. #hitsunami
9:22am Very proud of you Hawai‘i re media coverage I’m hearing: We’re taking this very seriously, but calmly, and w/Aloha, kokua for all #hitsunami
9:36am Hawai‘i keep in mind we’ve been in drought, reservoirs already low. Turn off irrigation systems: conserve water ‘til we know more #hitsunami
9:44am Very impressed by ongoing television coverage all-islands on @KHONnews @KITV4 and @HawaiiNewsNow: Mahalo to all of you! #hitsunami
10:01am Kuleana Kākou: Time to get off the roads, stay home/at high ground; keep roads clear for evacuation buses and emergency personnel #hitsunami
10:13am Big Isle: We’ve less than an hour before 1st surge expected in Hilo: Have your battery-powered radios ready if power interruption #hitsunami
10:16am Oh my, prayers for Chile ‘Ohana! RT: @WSJ New photos of the destruction in Chile after their massive earthquake: http://on.wsj.com/azJ0Rn
11:35am Water definitely receding, unusual surf activity in many areas. Thanks to technology of today we are seeing and learning so much! #hitsunami
11:53am Truly amazing to see our ocean water behave so differently. white water going backwards, reefs exposed. mesmerizing. still gentle #hitsunami
11:57am “This is not an exact science, everybody has to be patient, we’re still in the waiting period.” Ed Teixeira state civil defense #hitsunami
12:04pm Auwe, ocean churn increasing, and 1st wave “not necessarily the biggest.” See live feed here: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/ #hitsunami
12:07pm Way too many Twitter news updates to RT— wow! The list I have w/news most local to #hitsunami is @rosasay/newsfeeds
12:34pm News: “1st tsunami wave has now reached all Hawaiian islands. Its energy is now swirling all around us. Too early to call off warning tho.”
12:57pm Latest/ quick to hit the net! RT @CBSNews Tsunami official in Hi says “We dodged a bullet” but keeps warning in effect http://bit.ly/bE9WRq
1:03pm Hawai‘i ‘Ohana please keep safe, cautious. Live feeds show our ocean still behaving strangely w/erratic current shifts and surges #hitsunami
1:46pm Now hearing official word: Pacific Tsunami Center lifting #hitsunami warning: We’re in “stand-down” mode. Significant surges, but no damage
1:56pm A very BIG Mahalo to caring Aloha Spirit of Twitter ‘Ohana: I’ve got to believe all those good vibes help in exponential ways #hitsunami
1:59pm Now 56 aftershocks 5.0+ from Chile. Pacific Tsunami concerns not over for Guam, Japan, the Samoas, NZ, others. Keep the Aloha Spirit strong
2:33pm RT @alohajanet: Hawaii residents we were lucky today #hitsunami Donate your canned goods to a local food bank. Need is great in this economy
3:36pm Betcha many afternoon nappers in Hawai‘i after being up all night to prepare for #hitsunami I’m liking that idea too w/last guest now gone.
5:37pm News Update: Tsunami may still be a concern for Russia and Northern Japan. All others in the Pacific now in the clear. (via @HawaiiNewsNow)
Technology has changed so much. The day does give me a sense of wonder about the difference (After Sunday’s Earthquake, October 2006 …no Twitter then, all my reporting after the fact).
As Jennifer Chandler summed up in these three tweets:
my opinion: twitter works because it creates community among people who weren’t community before. we call it different things…
… we call it marketing, pr, govt -but at the end of the day, its still good ol social mechanisms and our own desires driving us together.
when there’s a crisis, we become community for many different reasons and suddenly the boundaries shift… like we saw today…
8:50pm Update: I see Jennifer has published a blog post:
Community emergence in times of crisis #hitsunami
And in the interest of complete reporting, this from Howard Dicus, “Hawaii News Now Resident Explainer:” Apotheosis of the dumbass