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1995 First Place Winner
Story by Travis Veriato
Interviewee: Susan Maeda Veriato
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An Essay About the 1960 Tsunami
On Monday, May 23, 1960, there was a tsunami that changed Hilo forever. A tsunami is a wave produced by earthquakes. This particular tsunami was the result of an earthquake that occurred off the coast of Chile. The speed of the wave was estimated to be about 450 miles per hour. There were three waves that hit Hilo, the third being the most devastating. This wave was about 35 feet high, striking Hilo at 1:04 a.m. It is reported to have hit the upper rim of Hilo Bay, veering back toward town. Many people were lost at sea because of the undertow. There were 61 deaths and over 20 million dollars worth of damage.
The following account of the 1960 tsunami, as witnessed by a seven-year-old child, is oral history given to me by my mother, Susan Maeda Veriato.
"I remember when the 1960 tsunami hit Hilo. I was only seven years old and so my memory of the details is sketchy. I remember being awakened by one of my parents. It must have been pretty late at night because I was feeling groggy. When I finally understood what was happening, I wondered what the big deal was all about. You see, there had been two or three tsunami warnings in my recent memory and none of them had panned out. Something was different though about this one. One of our neighbors, Mr. Suehiro, had checked the Wailoa River (A few of us lived along its bands) and noticed that it was receding. He was a bit concerned and came over to ask my dad′s opinion of the whole ting. They both concluded that it looked pretty serious and decided that we would all evacuate. As we drove out of our little neighborhood, which, from what I can remember was a small circled of about five houses sharing a common large yard partly bordered by the Wailoa River and Doc Hill′s boat ramp. W e stopped at each house and my dad informed our other neighbors about the receding river and of our plans to evacuate. Our street, Muliwai, opened up to what we now know as the Wailoa boat ramp and dock. My parents decided to park our car on Manono Street and wait, as they noticed that quite a few other people were milling around the area. The atmosphere was strange --people speaking in small groups; voices low with occasional nervous laughter being heard. My brother opted to wait in the car while I stood by my parents on the curb. After what seemed like a long wait, the river seemed to surge and water spilled over onto the road. The second surge brought the river to the curb on which we were standing. By this time, a few people were kind of laughing in relief. Not very impressive as waves go.
Suddenly I heard a shout, 'Big wave!' The streetlights around us exploded almost in the same instant. I looked up and saw a locally well know fishing boat coming up over the Wailoa Bridge. My dad grabbed me by the hand and must have lifted me off the ground because I don′t remember running, and the next thing I knew, he had throw me into the back seat of the car and was trying to drive off. We hit the tail fin of the car in from of us as we made our escape.
There must have been a moon out as I remember looking out the rear window with my brother. A huge black wall of water was bearing down on us. People on foot were getting swept up by the wave. We drove around and ended up at my aunt′s for the night.
The next morning we were eager to get home to see how our house fared. As we got closer to Wailoa, we noticed that the trees had mud and limu in their branches. We even saw men emerging from the bushes, all wet and dirty, laughing with nervous relief that they had survived a nightmare. Someone stopped my dad from going any further. My dad tried to explain that his house and his belongings were in there, but the man shook his head and said something about nothing being left. We returned to my aunt′s house realizing that we had lost everything. Life as I had known it would never be the same."
Grandma remembers loud noises, water receding, people screaming for help, and mothers crying for their children. She also remembers a cow mooing, things breaking apart, and then quiet. Everything happened so fast. It was very dark and everyone was frightened, especially the children. A long time later firemen came to rescue them. Instead of helping them off the roof, the firemen left them on the roof so they could help other people in critical condition. The next morning. the Sakai family went to their grandmother′s house in Waiakea House lots. Along the way, they saw cars overturned and houses off their foundation. At about the same time, Grandpa and all the fishermen and returned from sea and saw debris floating in the bay. They saw broken buildings, trees, and even saw a woman floating on a screen door. They hurriedly walked through the disaster zone, searching for their homes. When Grandpa got to Aalapuna Street, he saw only a small part of the house. The rest of the house was pushed halfway towards Reed′s Bay. He saw a delivery truck filled with beer smashed in Grandpa and Grandma′s bedroom.
Hilo, Hawaii is less vulnerable to tsunamis now because most of the tsunami-prone areas are designated to park and open field. A repeat of the 1960 tsunami would be devastating, although it is up to us to remember Hilo′s past and to accept its present and future.
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All materials © Copyright 1996-2007 Pacific Tsunami Museum Inc.
130 Kamehameha Ave Hilo, HI 96720 tel: 808-935-0926 FAX: 808-935-0842
email:
Last Revised November 2007
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