It was the first day of my much-delayed honeymoon. My husband and I gazed out on a beautiful Hawaiian sunset—setting behind the Walmart. Because the Walmart parking lot was the evacuation center. From our height we glimpsed a magical ocean view. We couldn’t take our eyes off it, and neither could anyone else among the crowd that had gathered. It was 7pm in Kona, and a tsunami was due any minute.
When I went on vacation at the end of July, a disaster alert certainly wasn’t on the itinerary. However, instead of being annoyed at our plans being derailed, I am incredibly grateful for all the systems we have in place to keep us safe.
We heard about the tsunami warning in the shuttle from the airport to the rental car place. When we checked in to our timeshare, everyone’s phones started buzzing. People walked past us, heading for their cars to evacuate. When we saw locals taking the warning seriously, it sank in that this could be a Big Deal.
As our room was only on the second floor, less than 50 feet away from the crashing surf, we lost no time heading to Walmart. The roads backed up with traffic, many people choosing to head further inland for shelter. Walmart brought out cases of bottled water and additional propane tanks in case people lost power. Denny’s was one of the only restaurants open, and the remaining staff took on the demeanor of war veterans.
Then we waited.
Because it was Hawaii, the general vibe was more like an impromptu tailgating party. People were chatting, livestreaming, playing music on their truck sound systems. We traded tsunami facts with the people next to us.
When the first wave was scheduled to hit, the atmosphere took on an earned voyeurism as everyone gathered to get the best view. We hadn’t wished for a disaster, but if one struck then we might as well get some footage of a rare spectacle.
Luckily, Kona survived without damage, although waves hit Maui and the Hilo side of the Big Island. If we wanted to capture a big wave on camera, we were disappointed.
We thought of the Boxing Day Tsunami from 2004, how many were taken by surprise even though like us they had hours after the earthquake to flee to higher ground. We could be thinking about our livestreams and ordering at Denny’s not because this tsunami was harmless but because we knew when it was coming.
So the next time my phone makes that horrid sound and I see yet another weather advisory, I won’t be annoyed. I’ll appreciate that we have the technology to know when our lives are in danger.
