Tsunami Destroys Hilo

On April 1st, 1946 an earthquake occurred off the coast of Alaska in the Aleutian Islands at 12:29 GMT. The quake was originally rated as 7.2 on the Richter scale but has since been thought to have been much more severe in recent time. As a result of this quake, a huge series of tidal waves was sent southward along the north and south American coast and was felt as far away as Australia. But nowhere was the devastation more intense than in the Hawaiian Islands.

Just 4.5 hours after the quake occurred, deadly tidal waves of over 100 feet hit the north shore of Kauai causing extensive damage. The waves continued southward and reached the coast of the unsuspecting Big Island less than a half hour after this. The half-moon shape of Hilo Bay only intensified the waves as they came on shore destroying all of the buildings on the main street of the town. The houses were knocked off of their foundations and pushed back onto other houses in the town. At least 6-7 waves pounded the island at intervals of 15-20 minutes. At the end of it all, 159 people were dead along the Big Island coast from this deadly tidal wave. In 1948, public outcry over the destruction of the town and its residents brought about the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to alert islanders of any danger approaching them.

On May 23, 1960, the sirens again signaled tidal wave danger to Hilo residents. This time, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake that had occurred off of the coast of Chili sent the huge waves back into Hilo bay. Although the sirens had warned of the eminent danger, 61 people still lost their lives in the same area as giant tidal waves again rushed ashore in this area.

Today, the downtown area of Hilo has been re-built. Few buildings remain that survived the catastrophic events of those two tidal waves that came crashing on shore.