[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2844-2845]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HAWAII'S TSUNAMI RESPONSE

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I would like to commend the people of 
Hawaii for their quick response to the tsunami caused by the earthquake 
in Chile.
  On Saturday, February 27, 2010, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the 
coast of Chile generated a tsunami throughout

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the Pacific. A tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii, the Northern 
Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the Marshall and Solomon Islands. 
Additionally, a tsunami advisory was issued for the west coast of the 
United States and Alaska.
  My staff and I monitored the situation closely, and were in contact 
with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and the Hawaii 
State Civil Defense. FEMA was monitoring the situation in Hawaii and 
the other territories from the FEMA Region IX office in California and 
Region X office in Washington State. Supplies for any recovery effort 
in the Pacific are prepositioned in Hawaii at FEMA's Pacific Area 
Office warehouse, as well as in Guam and American Samoa. I worked to 
establish and maintain the FEMA Pacific Area Office headquartered in 
Honolulu in order to protect our isolated island communities. The 
office has been essential for preparedness efforts in Hawaii and 
critical for disaster response throughout the Pacific region.
  Equally important, the actions of State and local officials and the 
people of Hawaii have demonstrated the value of citizen and community 
preparedness. Thanks to the efforts of the people of Hawaii, we were 
prepared to save lives and avert considerable damage had a large 
tsunami come ashore. Around 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, tsunami warning 
sirens sounded in Hawaii, which notified people to evacuate the low-
lying areas. The people of Hawaii followed the directions of our local 
authorities, stayed calm, and evacuated all shorelines.
  Hawaii is familiar with the destructive power of tsunamis. In 1960, a 
9.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile generated a tsunami 
that killed over 60 people in Hawaii. More recently, Hawaii faced a 
disaster of a different kind, in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki caused 
billions of dollars in damage.
  The Chilean earthquake reminded us that when a disaster occurs, we 
need to be prepared. Because Hawaii is isolated from the rest of the 
United States, it is even more critical that we are prepared to take 
care of ourselves. I want to congratulate the people of Hawaii, as well 
as Federal, State, and local authorities who successfully prepared for 
and responded to the tsunami.
  While I am thankful for the tsunami's minimal impact on my home 
State, we cannot forget the tragedy in Chile. My thoughts and prayers 
are with everyone affected by the earthquake.

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