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IMO a tsunami that would reach the houses in Waa Waa would probably be caused by a local landslide in ocean.... most of the homes are at least 20'- 30' minimum above the sea level because thats the height of the cliff along there, its much lower in the Honolulu Landing area just north of there, but there are no homes right there.
IMO The homes that would get hit by a good tsunami are the ones along the shore in Kapoho etc. and the homes at the end of Opihikao Rd at the white church, the church the home next to it and all those along that low area, ... those are the lowest homes along the Puna Coast I can think of beside a couple like the one right at the boatramp at Pohoiki, the school at the hotpond and a couple homes next to it... the other high risk homes IMO are the ones north of the Hilo airport along the shore.
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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PS the Shipman Home @ Shipman Beach is also very very low.... wonder what kind of damage did it have in 1946 and 1960????
also I would think that Honolulu/Waikiki would be complete destroyed before 99% of Puna will be affected by a large tsumani, that whole metro area is less than 15' above sealevel with no cliffs to help knock it down.... Puna gradually rises to 4,000' feet and 99% of the shore is cliffs..
save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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I honestly would buy property down there because the risk is high but the probability is low. I WOULD let my parents by a house there! Besides, if a tsunami that came barreling in was enough to wipe out all the are down there we would all have bigger problems on our hands.
As previously said, it all depends on the orientation of the tsunami as well as the amount of subsidence or drop that during the EQ. Also, the highest tsunami recorded in in human history on the along the coast in which you are referring was roughly 27-35 feet back in 1946. Local tsunamis are possible, but very isolated. I doubt any of us would be alive if/when a tsunami wave took out lower Puna.
I have a bit of education regarding this sort of stuff, so I am not just making it up
Mahalo
Oh, plus your talking about tsunami threats when you will be purchasing property on the side of an active volcano
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I guess I am the only one to think Hilo is way over reacting to a tsunami's in Hawaii. You should know Waikiki is only 4' above sea level.
I would hate to ask how much that sea wall cost in front of Hilo... Since the largest wave to hit Hilo was only 2-3 meter's high... I think the cash would have been better spent to tear down all the shacks and move them up the hill a bit to build new modern buildings. Would not have the sea wall and better beach fronts with less stagnant water.
There have been talks in the past in punching holes in the sea wall to get the water to flow in better but seems no action was taken on that to get moving. I dunno... I think hilo needs to be revamped (better planning). Yeah a lot of cash but it probably won't happen due to dirty beaches.
All that being said... I'd worry more about hot lava than a tsunami. But why worry? Your in Hawaii!
Relax and enjoy it where ever you are Hawaii. It's not just the big island that has to worry about high waves it's all of them. If your really worried just build you house 10-15 feet off the ground.
That will probably be safe bet for the 1-3 meter wave.
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quote:
Originally posted by ericlp
I guess I am the only one to think Hilo is way over reacting to a tsunami's in Hawaii. You should know Waikiki is only 4' above sea level.
Probably. The topography and depth profile of Hilo Bay is such that it funnels the energy of tsunamis directly at the town, and tends to make them higher there than nearby. Waikiki on the other hand has a long shallow reef in front of it that dissipates some of the wave energy, and it's facing southwest, where fewer tsunami-generating earthquakes come from. It would still get hit hard by a good sized tsunami from the right direction, but it's more likely in Hilo.
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MR is right. The Japanese word "tsunami" literally means "harbor wave"--and Japan's long history of earthquakes confirms repeatedly that harbors (like Hilo) are great at funneling tsunami energy. The tsunamis that really scare me are those generated by local earthquakes, as they can catch you off guard, and give little time to evacuate to higher ground.
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
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quote:
Originally posted by Midnight Rambler
quote:
Originally posted by ericlp
I guess I am the only one to think Hilo is way over reacting to a tsunami's in Hawaii. You should know Waikiki is only 4' above sea level.
Probably. The topography and depth profile of Hilo Bay is such that it funnels the energy of tsunamis directly at the town, and tends to make them higher there than nearby. Waikiki on the other hand has a long shallow reef in front of it that dissipates some of the wave energy, and it's facing southwest, where fewer tsunami-generating earthquakes come from. It would still get hit hard by a good sized tsunami from the right direction, but it's more likely in Hilo.
Although Kapoho is in the tsunami zone at least 5 streets in Kapoho Vacationland are over a 10 ft elevation. The street I live on varies from 14-17 ft. The houses on the streets in front are from 0' to 11' just on Waiopae Rd so the danger is greater. The 1st street out of the tsunami zone here is at a 40' elevation.
We also have a reef and as I am sure Carey will corroborate, we do not have a bay that funnels like Hilo Bay or Kapoho Bay. But if that waves is coming from So America it will hit us straight on and I dont think I will wait on my deck for it to arrive.
One of the things my hubby says is that for 364 days a year, there is no place better to live. We have one night of anxiousness, and so far been by-passed by disaster. He comes from Kansas where you get maybe 15 minutes of warning. He was in the Andover tornado that destroyed about 1/2 mile by 35 miles of homes and businesses. Destroyed. Flat to the ground. They had to paint the street names on the road so you knew which street you were on. He said 3-10 hrs versus 15 mins of notice so that he can enjoy his life at the ocean. A no-brainer to him.
Again, it is all in what you find to be acceptable risks. My friend who is one big anxiety puddle at any given time of the day or night could not handle the thought of a threat of a tsunami. She has told us that, yet lives 20 miles from a major california fault line. Go figure.
