Director of Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Charles McCreery ready to cancel watch for Hawaii.
“We’re not seeing anything alarming. The wave was not any bigger than we expected. In fact, it might have been a little smaller,” McCreery said. “We’re all in agreement out here, we can end this thing for Hawaii.”
Mayor Billy Kenoi, who spent 90 minutes in a helicopter flying over Hilo’s shoreline, said he saw six or seven surges that sucked out 30 feet of coastline.
“We saw an incredible amount of surges,” he said.
Kenoi said the county had received no reports of injury or property damage and remained “cautiously optimistic” that the major danger seems to have passed by the state.
“My stomach is still in knots. This was not a practice run,” he said. “Everybody kept their cool. The police, fire department, public works, parks, all our agencies did an incredible job. They conducted all their duties early and got it done to make sure no-one lost their lives or got injured or lost their property.”
We are relieved Hawaii was spared a tsunami. We must not forget all those still in distress.