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The Hawaiian Islands are a series of volcanic mountains, some active and some inactive. With active volcanoes earthquakes are inevitable. The Hawaiian Islands also sit on a tectonic plate moving towards Japan which also causes occasional earthquakes. Geologists at the USGS feel the earthquakes on October 15, 2006 probably reflect the earth's response to loading by the islands. Preliminary analyses show a possible east-west slip plane and a similar orientation to the clustering of aftershocks.
The Big Island, Hawaii, has a volcano that has been actively erupting since 1986 so the people on the Big Island are accustomed to experiences of little earthquakes on almost a daily basis. However, it is very rare to have such a large violent earthquake as was experienced on 10/15/06.

HISTORY OF EARTHQUAKES IN HAWAII

Since 1960 when earthquake magnitudes began being documented using the modern seismic network there has only been 31 earthquakes in Hawaii with a magnitude greater than 4.0 before 10/15/06. Below are the major earthquakes over 5.0:
6.8, Big Island - Waikoloa, October 15, 2006
5.2, Big Island - Naalehu, July 17, 2005
5.3, Big Island - Paauilo, July 15, 2005
6.1, Big Island - off coast near Volcano, Jun. 25, 1989.
6.7, Big Island - Kaoiki, Nov. 16, 1983
7.2, Big Island- Kalapana, Nov. 29, 1975. Tsunami killed two people in Halape.
6.9, Big Island - Kona, Aug. 21, 1951
6.8, Maui, Jan. 22, 1938
6.5, Big Island - Holualoa, Oct. 6, 1929
6.8, Lanai, Feb. 19, 1871
7.9, Big Island - Ka'u district, April 2, 1868. Hawaii's largest earthquake, caused 77 deaths and knocked down homes made of stone, wood or straw. Landslides buried homes, and a tsunami drowned dozens of the victims.
7.0, Big Island - Ka'u district, March 28, 1868. A foreshock of the April 2 earthquake.
7.0, Big Island - south flank of Kilauea, June 2, 1923

DAMAGED LANDMARKS CAUSED BY THE 10/15/2006 EARTHQUAKE
(If you know of other landmarks damaged email us at islandtips@aol.com to provide information)

The Kalahikiola Congregational Church in Kapa'au – established nearly 150 years ago had an entire rock wall of the church collapse. 

Pu'ukohola Heiau in Kawaihae has collapsed and visitors are only able to view from distance. 

The historic Hulihee Palace in Kuala-Kona had major structural damage and had to be closed indefinitely.

Areas past the town of Hana, Maui are cut off due to bridges have structural damages so no vehicles or people are permitted to pass on them. Repair is expected in January 2007.

OUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE 10/15/06 EARTHQUAKE AND AFTERMATH

On Sunday October 15 I was awoke at 7:07am by a violent shaking of my bed. It felt like someone was at the foot of the bed pulling the mattress towards them then slamming it back against the wall where the head board is. The violent shaking lasted for what felt like a minute but was documented as 15 seconds. When I woke up I was in shock about what was going on until my husband said - Its an Earthquake! Once the shaking stopped my husband considered maybe North Korea sent over a few missiles so we tried to get news on the TV and Radio. There was nothing on any TV or Radio station about any attacks going on so we figured it was not bombs. There were no civil defense warnings set off so we turned on our computer and went online to the national geological society web site to try to find out about the earthquake when our power went out. That’s when we felt the aftershock. The first earthquake ended up being a 6.7 and the aftershock 7 minutes later was a 6.0. The second quake was more of a rumble where the first one was scary and very violent, so violent that if you were walking it would probably knock you to your feet. Several photo frames on our dressers fell over but that was the extent of our damage thankfully. The earthquake happened just 11 miles off the coast of Waikoloa on the Big Island, about 120 miles from Oahu, the island we live on. Reports show it was felt by each of the Hawaiian Islands from the Big Island to Niihau and luckily only a 3-4 inch Tsunami was generated. The people on the Big Island got the worst of the damage. There are many buildings with structural damage, damaged historical landmarks, roads with large cracks in it, landslides, broken windows, and lots of broken belongings. People on the Big Island reported everything in the kitchen cabinets and on shelves ended up crashing to the floor. Lots of tvs have also been reported being shaken off of entertainment centers onto the floor. Several hotels and schools on the Kona side of the Big Island are closed indefinitely due to structural damage.
The power outage was on all of the Hawaiian Islands and resulted in cellular and LAN service outages and overloads as well. Due to the magnitude of the quake the generators which create the electricity for the each Island shut off as a safety procedure and it was a long slow process to restart them all and get everyone on line again. My area was without power from about 7:08am-8:20pm but some people were waited for power for over 24 hours.
A state of emergency was declared right away and people were told to stay off the roads unless it was an emergency since no traffic lights were working. Tourists in Waikiki are reporting very desperate situations. With no electricity some got locked into or out of the hotel rooms which work on electronic key cards. They also had to walk up and down the stairs since the elevators were out and have reported emergency lights in the stairs started running out of battery power after 90 minutes so the stairwells were dark before noon time.  Almost every restaurant and store was closed so the tourists could not get food or water. Of the very few stores that did open they limited the number of people who could enter the store and people waited hours in line to get something to eat and drink. I have heard many reports of how the airport was totally disorganized. The TSA had to hand search every bag since the xray machines didn’t work. Jetways couldn’t be moved to allow arriving passengers to deplane. A lot of flights got canceled and people got stuck with no where to go and nothing to do.
Only 1 radio station was able to transmit after the earthquake and it was the lifeline for everyone in the islands. People called in with their stories of their experience, damage reports, reports on which gas stations were open, info on where food could be purchase, info on people price gouging, as well as questions and tips. It was quite an interesting day and the radio helped to keep informed and pass the day.
Since the initial quake there have been daily aftershocks with over 100 happening within the first 24 hours since the quake. The people on the Kona side of the Big Island have also been hit by heavy rains which have added to their terrible situation. The damage has already been reported to exceed 100 million and grows every day. I am grateful all we got was a little shaken and there was no loss of life on any island.

OTHER PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF THE 10/15/06 EARTHQUAKE AND AFTERMATH
(please email your personal account of the 10/15/06 Hawaii Earthquake to islandtips@aol.com) 

If there is ever another earthquake in the Hawaiian Islands you can listen to Hawaii Radio Station KSSK using the Internet to keep informed!

We commend Michael W. Perry and Larry Price, DJ's at radio station KSSK, for their reporting after the earthquake and during the power outage. Price was on the golf green and Perry was making a cup of coffee at home when the earthquake then black out happened. Without being asked they both showed up along with their amazing staff at their radio station and got the generators going. They began broadcasting within a half hour of the earthquake. They were the only source of information to the people of all the Hawaiian Island for many hours. They are outstanding citizens of Hawaii and their services were greatly appreciated. In the time of crisis in Hawaii the place to tune in for information is definitely KSSK!
Click here to go to the KSSK web site and listen to a live broadcast!

OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES WITH INFORMATION ON CURRENT EARTHQUAKES IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

List of recent earthquakes in Hawaii which happened over the last 336 hours (2 weeks) - http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/Quakes/quakes0.html

Map of recent earthquakes in Hawaii which happened over the last 336 hours (2 weeks) - http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/

Having a party? Make it a Hawaiian theme party! LUAUS ARE FUN FOR: Holiday Parties, Prom, Graduation, Birthday, Wedding, Anniversary, Promotion, Retirement, Baby & Wedding Showers, Family Reunions, Corporate Recognition Programs, Company Picnic, Convention, Class Reunions, New Years Eve Parties Click here for FREE Luau Resources including first name translations into Hawaiian, decorating suggestions, games, & recipes to easily create a Hawaiian Luau anywhere!

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