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County / In Brief
March 13, 2011
Article From: The Maui News

$5K collected so far for fireworks show

LAHAINA – After a month of fundraising, the Maui Chamber of Commerce has garnered more than $5,000 toward its goal of collecting $50,000 to pay for a Fourth of July fireworks show off Front Street.

Donations came from 14 businesses and individuals, including “major contributors” the Hard Rock Cafe, Expeditions Lahaina Ferry Co., the Wharf Cinema Center, Kimo’s Restaurant and the Pacific Whale Foundation.

Others who helped the chamber raise 12 percent of its goal thus far included The Maui News, Lahaina News, David Paul’s Island Grill, Atlantis Submarines, Maui USA Realty, state Sen. Roz Baker, Realtor Joe Pluta, Lokelani Construction, Lahaina Inn and Maui Communicators.

Businesses or individuals who want to contribute should contact the chamber at 244-0081.

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Developer to speak at Waikapu meeting

WAIKAPU – Developer Mike Atherton will speak at a Waikapu Community Association meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Waikapu Community Center.

He will discuss Waikapu Country Town project conceptual plans involving the area around his Maui Tropical Plantation and makai of Honoapiilani Highway.

Atherton’s commentary “relates directly to the ongoing review of the Maui Island Plan now before the Maui County Council,” a news release said.

For more information, contact Waikapu Community Association officials by sending e-mail to waikapuca@hawaii.rr.com.

* * *

Mayor to speak at Rotary Club lunch

KAHULUI – Mayor Alan Arakawa will speak to the Rotary Club of Kahului at noon Monday in the Class Act restaurant at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

Club members will get an update on the state of the county.

The club meets from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays in the college’s Pa’ina Building, second floor. Lunch costs $20, or there’s a $5 program fee.

For more information, call 875-0500 or send e-mail to club President Leslie Mullens at lmullens@yahoo.com.

* * *

Work force issues highlight of forum

KAHULUI – Work force development issues and initiatives will take center stage Wednesday at a community forum sponsored by the Aging with Aloha Coalition.

The event is set for 4 to 6 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Cultural Hall, 125 W. Kamehameha Ave. in Kahului. The coalition will share information about initiatives its partners have designed and implemented to support growth in Maui’s work force.

Speakers include Teisha Zablan, Coalition Workforce Education Committee chairwoman; Dr. Alfred Arensdorf, president of the Maui County Medical Society and Coalition co-chairman of its Policy and Advocacy Committee; and Coalition Director Rita Barreras.

For more information about the forum and to volunteer, call 871-7749.

After tense night, damage light

Officials assess losses from early-morning tsunami

March 12, 2011 – By BRIAN PERRY, City Editor
Article from: The Maui News

WAILUKU – After a night of suspense, preparation and, for some, seeking higher ground, Mauians saw in the first light of day Friday how an earthquake-generated tsunami had washed in to low-lying areas, damaging homes, boats and harbors and disrupting lives.

There were no reports of injuries or loss of life, said Rod Antone, the county communications director. But flood damage was reported in at least three homes in Kihei and one in Kahului, he said. The Red Cross was responding to provide assistance.

Roads and schools were closed, although most public schools already had been scheduled to be shut for furloughs. Kahului Airport remained open, although roads leading to it were closed, along with most roads near the ocean while there was a risk of tsunami inundation. Most roads were reopened by noon.

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the east coast of northern Japan triggered Pacific-wide tsunami warnings. The tsunami advisory for Hawaii was lifted as of 11:26 a.m. Friday.

At Maalaea Harbor, Antone said, four boats sustained major damage. Substantial damage also was seen at Manele Harbor on Lanai.

Mayor Alan Arakawa took a helicopter flight Friday morning to assess damage. He said he saw substantial damage to Maalaea Harbor and numerous areas where the tidal surge made its way at least 100 yards onshore. In places, highway jersey barriers were pushed aside by the surge of water, he reported.

Near Kanaha Beach Park, Arakawa said, he could see where vegetation had been devastated by the tsunami.

“The wave just ripped a lot of vegetation out of the ground and moved inland,” he said.

Arakawa said he and others aboard the helicopter saw homeless people near the mouth of Iao Stream and dispatched authorities to move them out of harm’s way.

Department of Water Supply Director Dave Taylor and Department of Public Works Director David Goode took separate helicopter flights to assess damage, the mayor said.

Damage assessments were ongoing Friday, Arakawa said.

A Maui Fire Department crew also did an aerial reconnaissance at 6 a.m., but firefighters saw no evidence of residents in distress from the tsunami, Antone said.

He said he was on Puunene Avenue with county Managing Director Keith Regan and Deputy Communications Director Ryan Piros when the tsunami hit and brought ocean water as far inland as Walgreens at the intersection of Puunene and Kamehameha avenues.

“It was really amazing,” he said, adding that they could see the wave surge approaching them. “Before we knew it, it was at our car. We had to jump in and take off.”

Antone said officials from the Water Supply and Environmental Management departments took steps to protect electrical facilities at water pump stations and at island wastewater reclamation sites. As of 10 a.m., all those facilities had been returned to normal operation.

The county reported two wastewater overflows discovered around 7:30 a.m. Friday – one in Paukukalo and another in Napili. The Paukukalo spill was of about 40 gallons from a Waiehu Beach Road manhole fronting a pump station and a storm drain, and the other was of an unknown amount from a Lower Honoapiilani Highway manhole fronting a Napili sewage pump station. In both cases, the standing water was removed, and the area of the spill was disinfected.

County officials also received reports of marine life washing ashore in the Kanaha Beach Park area, Antone said.

People were picking up fish and octopuses from the road, he said. A fire crew was dispatched to pick up a 40- to 50-pound sea turtle and return it to the ocean.

Arakawa said he was pleased overall with the county’s tsunami response, which included providing shelter to hundreds of residents seeking higher ground.

“We were able to evacuate people literally in the middle of the night,” he said.

****We will be posting videos later today taken from around the island yesterday****

Waves bring flooding on Maui, damage in Kailua-Kona

By Michael Tsai
Article from: Star-Advertiser

On the Neighbor Islands, damage was reported in Kailua-Kona and flooding was reported in Kahului, where the surge reached a third of a mile inland.

Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi’s office confirmed that “damaging waves” hit Kailua-Kona around 5:30 a.m., roughly two hours after the first surge was expected. The waves caused relatively minor but widespread damage in the area.

According to Hawaii County Civil Defense official John Drummond, a foot of water rushed into the lobby of the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel; the water also destroyed several canoes stored in front of the hotel.

Water also entered the interior of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and several other businesses fronting Kailua Bay. While wave heights have not yet been determined, Kenoi’s office received reports that some of the surges reached the tops of portable toilet booths in the area.

The damage was discovered this morning when police officers and other county workers returned to the inundation zone.

County spokesperson Hunter Bishop said that surges were still being reported as of 8 a.m. this morning. He stressed that the Big Island is still observing tsunami warning precautions and that residents should continue to stay away from coastal areas until the county makes an “all clear” declaration.

Big Island Civil Defense is also looking into reports that a house in Kealakekua was swept away by the rising waters.

According to multiple reports out of Maui, waves crossed Kaahumanu Street in Kahului, reaching six to eight inches on the roadway at one point.

Unconfirmed reports also indicated water climbing the seawall and cross Front Street in Lahaina.

Waves reached as high as 9 feet in Kahului, according to Maui civil defense.

Maui County spokesperson Rod Antone said county officials tracked the progress of the waves overnight from atop a nearby building.

This morning, Mayor Alan Arakawa joined directors from Public Works, Wastewater Management and the Department of Water Supply in a helicopter fly-over of the island to assess the damage.

Two initial surges of six to seven feet hit Kahului in the first hours of the tsunami. A third, more powerful surge, which included waves estimated at 9 feet, followed just before daybreak and advanced as much as a block inland.

Gerard Fryer, scientist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said the water reached a third of mile inland.

South Kihei Road was also reported to be flooded.

Arakawa confirmed that some low-lying areas had been flooded and that businesses near Kahului Harbor were damaged by water.

While most roads and streets in the inundation zone remain closed, Maui police did reopen two high-traffic intersections: Hana and Haleakala Highways and Hana Highway and Baldwin Avenue.

Antone said the island’s 14 evacuation centers were filled, with as many as 500 people in some facilities.

There were no immediate reports of damage on Kauai, which was the first island to have the tsunami warning lifted at about 7:30 a.m.

On the Big Island, an estimate 1,000 people took shelter in 15 evacuation centers set up around the island, according to Kenoi’s office.

About 100 guests from the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, on Banyan Drive next to Hilo Bay, accepted an invitation from Prince Kuhio Plaza mall manager Kimberley Shimabuku to spend the night at the mall. Other guests of the hotel were relocated to hotels and residences located further from the bay.

Neighbor Island civil defense departments reacted swiftly once yesterday’s tsunami watch was upgraded to a warning.

Big Island, Maui and Kauai officials all initiated evacuations of low-lying areas around 10 p.m. and posted warnings and advice via their websites and phone message lines.

The warning center provided continually updated predictions on when different coastal areas could expect to be hit, starting with Nawiliwili on Kauai and continuing through Honolulu, Kahului and Hilo.

“We had good leeway time,” said Big Island civil defense officer Duane Hosaka.

By 2 a.m. all neighbor island airports had been closed in anticipation of the tidal wave. Lihue Airport on Kauai was open by 7:45 a.m.

At 2:30 a.m., inundation zones along the north shore of Kauai from Hanalei to Kee had been cleared by police, according to resident Tom Finnegan. County officials had announced they were concentrating on securing the Poipu and North Shore resort communities. Traffic into those areas was shut down at 2:15 a.m., he said.

“It’s eerily quiet,” Finnegan said. “Everybody panicked between 10 and 12, and now people have hunkered down in front of their TVs.”

The parking lot at the Princeville Shopping Center was full, even though no stores were open. Finnegan said about 150 vehicles were parked there with people asleep inside. “It looks like the middle of the day in a busy shopping center except not one store is open,” he said.

Although Kauai is still under a tsunami warning, the County of Kauai plans to proceed with business as usual. Employees are advised to monitor the media for road closures and other information, and to report to work as they are able.

The County’s Ocean Safety Bureau advises all persons to stay out of the ocean for the remainder of the day today, even after the tsunami warning is lifted.

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Rod Thompson on the Big Island contributed to this report.