Post by Barry on Oct 16, 2006 19:54:19 GMT -5
Moved from The OMB:
Anonymous
Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes Hawaii
Sun Oct 15, 2006 20:08
71.31.82.43
2:56 p.m. October 15, 2006
HONOLULU – A strong earthquake shook Hawaii early Sunday, causing a landslide that blocked a major highway on Hawaii Island and knocking out power across the state, authorities said.
The state Civil Defense had unconfirmed reports of injuries, but communication problems prevented more definite reports. Gov. Linda Lingle issued a disaster declaration for the entire island, saying there had been damage to buildings and roads.
The quake hit at 7:07 a.m. local time, 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua Kona, a town on the west coast of the Big Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Blakeman said there was no risk of a Pacific-wide tsunami, but a possibility of significant wave activity in Hawaii.
The Pacific Tsunami Center reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. It was followed by several strong aftershocks, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, the Geological Survey said.
“We were rocking and rolling,” said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. “I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth.”
Betsy Garties, who lives in North Kohala on the northern tip of Hawaii Island, said she was lying in bed with one of her two young children when the quake struck. She first stood under a door frame as safety experts advise, then found that too wobbly for comfort and ran into the yard.
“It was strong enough that it was wobbling, so you almost lost your balance running out into the yard,” Garties said. “The house was visibly rocking.”
The quake caused widespread power outages, and phone communication was possible, but difficult. By mid-day Sunday, power was restored to Hilo on the Big Island and was starting to be restored to Maui, said Chuck Anthony, a spokesman for the Hawaii National Guard. Officials did not have a firm estimate of how many people were without power.
In Waikiki, one of the state's primary tourism areas, worried visitors began lining up outside convenience stores to purchase food, water and other supplies. Managers were letting tourists into the darkened stores one at a time.
Karie and Bryan Croes were waited an hour to buy bottles of water, chips and bread.
“It's quite a honeymoon story,” said Karie as she and her husband sat in lounge chairs surrounded by their grocery bags beside a pool at ResortQuest Waikiki Beach Hotel.
On Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, there was some damage in Kailua-Kona and landslide along a major highway, said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Center.
Lingle said in a radio interview with radio station KSSK from Hawaii Island that she had no report of any fatalities. She said boulders fell on highways, rock walls collapsed and televisions had been knocked off stands.
Some patients at Kona Community Hospital were being evacuated to a nearby conference center after the building suffered damage, Terry Lewis, interim director of community relations, told television station KITV in Honolulu.
The ceilings came down in the operating room, she said.
“The integrity of the building seems to be okay, but a lot of our ceilings on our medical surgical unit have fallen in,” she said.
Airports were functioning despite the power outages, though slowly.
Heraga said that inbound flights were being allowed to land, but outgoing flights were not taking off because the TSA doesn't have enough power to screen passengers.
Resorts in Kona were being asked to keep people close to hotels, Big Island Mayor Harry Kim told KITV. Cruise ships were asked to keep tourists on board, and ships that were due to dock with tourists were asked to move on to their next location, he said.
“We are dealing with a lot of scared people,” he said.
By Greg Small
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Anonymous
Magnitude 6.6 earthquake strikes Hawaii
Sun Oct 15, 2006 20:08
71.31.82.43
2:56 p.m. October 15, 2006
HONOLULU – A strong earthquake shook Hawaii early Sunday, causing a landslide that blocked a major highway on Hawaii Island and knocking out power across the state, authorities said.
The state Civil Defense had unconfirmed reports of injuries, but communication problems prevented more definite reports. Gov. Linda Lingle issued a disaster declaration for the entire island, saying there had been damage to buildings and roads.
The quake hit at 7:07 a.m. local time, 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua Kona, a town on the west coast of the Big Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Blakeman said there was no risk of a Pacific-wide tsunami, but a possibility of significant wave activity in Hawaii.
The Pacific Tsunami Center reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. It was followed by several strong aftershocks, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, the Geological Survey said.
“We were rocking and rolling,” said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. “I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth.”
Betsy Garties, who lives in North Kohala on the northern tip of Hawaii Island, said she was lying in bed with one of her two young children when the quake struck. She first stood under a door frame as safety experts advise, then found that too wobbly for comfort and ran into the yard.
“It was strong enough that it was wobbling, so you almost lost your balance running out into the yard,” Garties said. “The house was visibly rocking.”
The quake caused widespread power outages, and phone communication was possible, but difficult. By mid-day Sunday, power was restored to Hilo on the Big Island and was starting to be restored to Maui, said Chuck Anthony, a spokesman for the Hawaii National Guard. Officials did not have a firm estimate of how many people were without power.
In Waikiki, one of the state's primary tourism areas, worried visitors began lining up outside convenience stores to purchase food, water and other supplies. Managers were letting tourists into the darkened stores one at a time.
Karie and Bryan Croes were waited an hour to buy bottles of water, chips and bread.
“It's quite a honeymoon story,” said Karie as she and her husband sat in lounge chairs surrounded by their grocery bags beside a pool at ResortQuest Waikiki Beach Hotel.
On Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, there was some damage in Kailua-Kona and landslide along a major highway, said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Center.
Lingle said in a radio interview with radio station KSSK from Hawaii Island that she had no report of any fatalities. She said boulders fell on highways, rock walls collapsed and televisions had been knocked off stands.
Some patients at Kona Community Hospital were being evacuated to a nearby conference center after the building suffered damage, Terry Lewis, interim director of community relations, told television station KITV in Honolulu.
The ceilings came down in the operating room, she said.
“The integrity of the building seems to be okay, but a lot of our ceilings on our medical surgical unit have fallen in,” she said.
Airports were functioning despite the power outages, though slowly.
Heraga said that inbound flights were being allowed to land, but outgoing flights were not taking off because the TSA doesn't have enough power to screen passengers.
Resorts in Kona were being asked to keep people close to hotels, Big Island Mayor Harry Kim told KITV. Cruise ships were asked to keep tourists on board, and ships that were due to dock with tourists were asked to move on to their next location, he said.
“We are dealing with a lot of scared people,” he said.
By Greg Small
ASSOCIATED PRESS
