Quake knocks out power across Hawaii <!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By GREG SMALL, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago HONOLULU - A strong earthquake shook Hawaii early Sunday, causing a landslide that blocked a major highway on Hawaii Island and knocking out power across the state, authorities said. Gov. Linda Lingle issued a disaster declaration for the entire state. <SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if (window.yzq_a == null) document.write("<scr" + "ipt type=text/javascript src=""http://us.js2.yimg.com/us.js.yimg.com/lib/bc/bc_1.7.3.js></scr" + "ipt>");</SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if (window.yzq_a){yzq_a('p', 'P=zKpjpUSOwhVj66RBRTKlrAKpSxchJ0Uyq9cABOYM&T=1avl861ab%2fX%3d1160948695%2fE%3d8903239%2fR%3dnews%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d1.1%2fW%3d8%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d3031239038%2fH%3dY2FjaGVoaW50PSJuZXdzIiBjb250ZW50PSJlYXJ0aHF1YWtlO2Rpc2FzdGVyO2hvdXNlO0VhcnRocXVha2U7SXQ7Y2hpbGRyZW47aXQ7cmVmdXJsX2RzbF9zYmNfeWFob29fY29tIiByZWZ1cmw9InJlZnVybF9kc2xfc2JjX3lhaG9vX2NvbSIgdG9waWNzPSJyZWZ1cmxfZHNsX3NiY195YWhvb19jb20i%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d56C28E44');yzq_a('a', '&U=13a9gs2it%2fN%3d3wWzAtG_fzs-%2fC%3d388209.9338036.10081371.8411986%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d3755140');}</SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT> The state Civil Defense had unconfirmed reports of injuries, but communication problems prevented more definite reports. People were also trapped in elevators in Oahu, authorities said. Lingle said in a radio interview with KSSK from Hawaii Island that she had no report of any fatalities. She said boulders fell on highways, rock walls collapsed and television had been knocked off stands. "We were rocking and rolling," said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. "I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth." The quake hit at 7:07 a.m. local time, 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua Kona, a town on the west coast of the Big Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the <FORM class=yqin action=http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search method=post> </FORM>U.S. Geological Survey. The Pacific <FORM class=yqin action=http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search method=post> </FORM>Tsunami Center reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. It was followed by several strong aftershocks, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, the Geological Survey said. Blakeman said there was no risk of a Pacific-wide tsunami, but a possibility of significant wave activity in Hawaii. On Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, there was some damage in Kailua-Kona and landslide along a major highway, said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Center. Officials were concerned there may be "structural integrity" problems at the big hospital in Kona in the Big Island, Lingle said. Rod Haraga, director of the state Transportation Department, told radio station KSSK the hospital was being evacuated. Betsy Garties, who lives in North Kohala, on the northern tip of Hawaii Island said she was lying in bed with one of her two young children when the quake struck. "First I heard a rumbling. Then the house started to shake. Then broken glass," Garties said. She first stood under a door frame as safety experts advise, then found that too wobbly for comfort and ran into the yard. "It was strong enough that it was wobbling, so you almost lost your balance running out into the yard," Garties said. "The house was visibly rocking." Peggy Cardoza, an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant in Hilo, said she was at work when the earthquake struck. "We just felt the ground shaking," Cardoza said. "We just stood here and watched everything shake." Power at least partially knocked out on every island, said Civil Defense spokesman Lani Goldman. On Oahu, 95 percent of customers were without power, he said. Authorities said some of the power outages may have been due to heavy rainfall. Airports were functioning despite the power outages, though slowly. Heraga said that inbound flights were being allowed to land, but outgoing flights were not taking off because the <FORM class=yqin action=http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search method=post> </FORM>TSA doesn't have enough power to screen passengers. Resorts in Kona were being asked to keep people close to hotels, Big Island Mayor Harry Kim told television station KITV. Cruise ships were asked to keep tourists on board, and ships that were due to dock with tourists were asked to move on to their next location, he said. "We are dealing with a lot of scared people," he said. Dan Fields, editor of The Sanford (N.C.) Herald, was on his honeymoon at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort when the earthquake struck. He said there were some cracks visible on the resort's buildings, but the damage appeared to be superficial. "There are piles of shoes and luggage on the floor shops, and in the coffee shop there is ground coffee all over the floor," said Fields. "Tiles have fallen off the roof, things like that. Structurally it seems to be fine."
I've been thinking about Bear since I heard the news earlier today. Hope he's okay. At least we know he's prepared for the emergency situation.
People wait in line for food at a roadside chicken stand in Kihei, Hawaii, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006, after an earthquake struck the big island of Hawaii knocking out power and forcing restaurants and other merchants to close.
Thanks for the concern ..... I appreciate you guys thinking about me... Things are fine.... pretty wild ride.... no damage... few things fell down.... Oh by the way.... that's me .... the blonde with the dark glasses trying to look away from the camera.... how do you like my disguise? Some pretty interesting lessons.... Forgot to print out the emergency frequencies and haven't programmed them into my Kenwood... so that was a bust.... Electricity to the whole state went out a few minutes after the quake.... Stores weren't that busy.... most folks figured the electricity would be on in no time.... Sheeple.... a few price gouging reports.... A bit of a run on bottled water.... Water Board told everyone to conserve as they were concerned that after the pressure was gone they may not have enough power to fill the reservoirs again .... most of Oahu is gravity fed... several areas reported loss of pressure.... Only one radio station operational.... lots of info.... trusty 9v transistor radio worked like a champ... I was at the store to see if I could get a gallon of milk for my daughter.... interesting... they were not selling any... heard it was possibly a liability issue since the refrigeration was out.... no big deal... lots of canned and powdered milk for her.... People had the most interesting things in their carts.... I walked out when I couldn't get the milk.... Here's a good one.... for folks planning to bug out by car when the electricity is out... police advised everyone who didn't need to be driving to stay home... the intersections were all to be treated as 4 way stops... I tell ya.... there are alot of people who don't know what that means.... almost got into a nice collision... two cars... just drove right through.... so pay attention when you're driving... and realize that you may be distracted or stressed... and that the other person may not stop.... Also... good ole Hawaiian Telecom.... you know... the regular telephone provider.... worked all the way through.... cell phones were down... and cordless phones were having problems... the cable phones were down as well.... go get yourself a plug in phone..... those were the only ones that were working.... they cost less than $10 and may be useful in a power outage.... Very interesting to watch reactions and actions of folks all around the state.... including state and local officials..... I was worried about a tsunami.... that was frustrating even though I'm above the inundation zone.... prepped and gassed up to make the run to the mountains either in my car or on foot....... around 1000ft elevation is the highest I can get without climbing gear.... Dinner cooked on the portable butane stove... no problems there.... All preps are staying in place for the next few weeks at the "really ready" status.... any aftershocks or new quakes.... and I'm good..... One equipment failure... my daughters portable dvd player - LCD screen was shot and the picture kept going off and on - we hardly use it.... hooked up the Brunton Solo 2 to the regular tv and dvd... no problems.... got a replacement today... ( so she can watch her favorite shows and have a good time - we played cards, talked "girl talk", played board games... did some crafts).... Brunton is already recharged.... All in All .... a good drill.... no warning.... sudden.... un-nerving event with all the shaking for what seemed like a long time..... almost instant loss of power... communications.... no or little access to critical information..... get busy with what you know and planned and don't wait for instructions or expect things will be fine.... (even though it turned out that way )
Glad you checked in Bear and that things are okay with you. I appreciate the analysis of the situation. Lessons there for all of us.
I am glad to hear that you and your family are safe and sound. Nothing like a little "surprise" to test your readiness. Sounds like you were well prepared and good to go. Your post just made me run and check to see what batteries my weather radio's ran off of.
Yer welcome RH.... Yup.... water is important.... check and see how yours is delivered.... ours is gravity fed from reservoirs until they run low.... then they need power to fill the reservoirs... they have generators but only so much fuel... island wide blackout is a problem... but you have time if you act quickly and don't wait.... Good to have redundant communications as well.... lots of people at Radio Shack today... buying plug in phones.... I've got 4 access numbers... 3 cell and one land line.... I share them with trusted friends on the mainland so they can check in..... really good drill.... sudden loss of power to everything.... it was good that it was during the day on a Sunday.... late afternoon on a workday... would have been bad..... traffic... people working in high rises.... what a mess...
Hey JC.... Thanks for the concern and the email.... Nope on the gennie..... My prep plans don't include firing up the generator for a few days.... got lots of solar and rechargeable batteries for the first 5-6 days... (don't necessarily want to advertise that I have one or two ... till I can really assess the situation - learned that one from our branches down in the South Pacific during hurricanes.... everyone knows who has the generators and generally show up there looking for something ... its o.k. if the situation is bad... but I like to stay a quite mode for a few days till I can figure things out) Got a standing order for 160 lbs of crushed ice and 150 lbs of block ice at a store nearby... about 3 minutes... first thing I did was to head over there.... already had 5 people ahead of me.... buying small bags... I've got big 150 qt marine coolers that I use for toy chests, storage and my humidor.... ice lasts about 5-6 days in there... longer if they stay closed.... Even though power came on around 1:30 am yesterday... I'm keeping the ice in the coolers... aftershocks and all.... and I always reconfirm how long it will keep... Nothing like the tinkle of ice in a cool drink to calm the nerves.... you know... comfort stuff... Cable went out with the power.... don't have a battery powersource.... but internet would be useless on the the ole square box.... Cingular worked the longest... so I guess I could have gotten access there.... but they went down after a while as well.... About the only thing I could have used was my frequency lists... dumb... I hadn't printed them out.... that's taken care of.... Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.... as I said before... this was a good drill.... a short one.... but a good drill.... still topping off all the rechargeables....
Just thinking, Bear, that if the phone lines were functional, dial-up Internet would perhaps have been working. A laptop obviously has a battery that can function for a while without power. Also, a suggestion for everyone--enabling silent running for a while--getting a hold of a Xantrex X-power system (continuously trickle-charged battery unit). Can conveniently and quietly keep you in the loop when things go dark. Amazon.com: Xantrex Technologies 802-1500 XPower Powerpack 1,500-Watt Portable @@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41EJTDEPV2L.@@AMEPARAM@@41EJTDEPV2L
Good suggestion.... I didn't think about dial up.... duh! That's why two or three or more heads are better than one.... lo-tech is definitely good back up.... I've got the Bruntons and smaller Xantrexs... so maybe I'll fool around with that and see what I can do with the computer .... good test Thanks... Also thanks for the link on the larger Xantrex.... I'll look for a local source... feedback seems like shipping damage is a possibility.... had the same problems with my Bruntons.... had to send them back for shipping damage 3 times Yup... "Silent Running" doesn't only apply to submarines.....
Glad everything is ok Bear. If any of you thought Dial up internet would be nice as a backup, I keep a free NetZero account for power outages here at my place. I always thought it might be nice to see if anything larger than local was going on if the lights went out. You can get the free, really ad filled and annoying netzero service here: http://www.netzero.net/ Also, some Hi Speed ISPs may have a DU number for their customers if they are traveling or something. Might be a good Idea to find out. Most Laptops are still shipping with 56K modems. I'm definatley getting some 9V radios for my cupboards. Sounds like they did the trick
Glad you're ok Bear....! Very good points....thank you.... Welcome to my world of preparing every year, June - November ...
Laptop batteries age, and depending on Li ion or NiCad need different exercise routines. "They" tell me that Li ion keep best with a full charge, drain to about 50% and store them. cool and dry, but I have no idea how long they will keep that way NiCads you are no doubt familiar with the routine you need to use. My original Li battery lasted about ten months before it became essentially useless, but I made no effort to care for it. The new one showed up with a barely detectable charge with instructions to charge and drain about 5 times, then "use normally" whatever that means. Battery meters on the laptop can be funky. When new, mine was good for about 2 hours. As it aged, the amount of charge it retained became less and less, but still showed 2 hours or more on startup. Spares stored is a good thing, but they are pricey. Dialup should do for a backup. What I don't know is how well DSL would work without power. Guessing it would be functional as long as the phone lines hold up.
