The World's Word

First published in The Independent newspaper

The tsunami warning sirens first reminded me of the air raid drills in Iraq and Kuwait, but I knew better to look for a gas mask – I’d heard the test sirens before. We were under a different kind of attack, this one from mother nature, not man.

My wife was out of bed seconds after the sirens went off, while I was already preparing a bag in case we had to evacuate. I turned on the television to find out what was going on. The local news was reporting that the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile had triggered a tsunami and was heading our way. We had five hours before the wave would hit.

At least we had some time. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I tried to calm myself so I could think clearly about what I needed; some clothes, food, water, diapers, formula. I thought we had enough supplies for a couple days in case we couldn’t go back to our apartment, but my wife thought otherwise.

“What if they turn off the water?” she asked. “Do we have enough to last for a week?”

Sure enough, the news reported that water would be turned off in Maui and that sewer lines would be down in Oahu. I filled up a giant plastic tub with water and thought how lucky we were not to be on Oahu where sewage was expected to seep up through the manholes and onto the streets.

“What about the power?” my wife asked. “Shouldn’t we cook some food in case that goes off?”

I cooked up some emergency mac and cheese and looked for more containers to fill water with. The next thing I had to do was find out if we were being evacuated or not.

Before I had the chance to do anything else the worried phone calls came in. “Are you all right?” my parents asked. “Head to high ground,” a text message from one of my friends read.

I pulled out the phone book to see if we live in an inundation zone. Lucky for us we are just outside of the evacuation area. We can see the ocean from the street in front of our apartment, but we’re high enough up that a tsunami would likely not reach us.

Only four blocks away residents were evacuating to higher ground. We were in standby mode, just waiting to see what would happen.

We did the safest thing possible and stayed home with our eyes glued to the local news station. Scientists were predicting a six to eight foot wave in Hilo Bay. My wife was relieved and began to relax a little. The 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people, which was caused by a 9.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile, had produced a 35 foot wave which destroyed much of the downtown Hilo area.

We didn’t want to let our guard down too much, but thought we’d take a stroll to see what was going on outside. The streets were busier than usual with cars zipping by, but no one seemed to be in panic mode. Because we had a baby, and because it was so hot out, we thought it was best to go back inside and wait it out there.

On T.V. we could see hundreds of people had lined the safer elevated areas around the shorelines in anticipation of something huge. At least one person was caught on camera wading out into the ocean however, but a helicopter swooped down to warn him to go back to shore. For the most part everyone else stayed clear of the water and followed evacuation instructions.

Sirens went off every hour on the hour until 11 a.m., right before the wave was about to hit, but luckily we were spared any destruction. The water around Coconut Island where I go kayaking could be seen receding and rising. The tsunami was here, we were told.

I thought for sure the water in the bay would be sucked out to sea and then come slamming back down on Coconut Island and the hotels along Banyan Drive, but no such thing happened. The water rushed out and came back several times before the surges finally stopped. We had been spared, but this was certainly not the last time such an event could occur.

Here on the Big Island we have an active volcano that could erupt at any time. Belowground movement of the lava causes earthquakes regularly, which could trigger a local tsunami. An earthquake anywhere along the Ring of Fire could also trigger a tsunami and hurricanes and typhoons are not uncommon out here in the Pacific.

In New Mexico nature can show its power and force, but out here I feel it every day. The tsunami scare we had on Saturday was a good reminder of how we must all respect nature and be careful not to take it for granted. 

In the United States those with money, personal connections, and high profile positions seem to get less jail time for the same crimes committed by the common class. Every time the privileged class gets off easy I scream of the injustice and demand they do the time too, but my attitude has changed. I've realized that screaming for more punishment is the wrong answer. The real answer is to give everyone the same privileged treatment. By demanding harsher punishments for the privileged the common class continues to lose with harsh, Draconian punishments that are largely unwarranted. There are too many people in prison in the United States for petty crimes. It is time we all get treated equally, for as Americans we are all privileged, not just the rich and powerful.