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1997 First Place Winner
Story by Sara Nonaka
Interviewee: Kimiko Sakai
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A Night to Remember
My grandma, Kimiko Sakai, has an excellent memory. Over the years she and my grandpa raised six children and enjoyed eight grandchildren. She has many experiences and memories. Every time we talk about a tsunami, she remembers the May 23, 1960 Hilo tsunami clearly. My grandma said this was one of the worst days of her life.
May 22, 1960 was a beautiful Sunday. The Sakai family lived on the Waiakea Peninsula between Coconut Island and Reed′s Bay. They started their day by going to church. After church, Grandpa went fishing in Hilo Bay on his small flat bottom boat. Grandma took all the children to Coconut Island for a swim. After swimming, Grandma received a telephone call from a person working at Suisan, to tell Grandpa to take his boats out to sea because there was a tidal wave warning. Grandma then sent two of her sons to call Grandpa home. He saw his sons′ signals to come home and wondered why they wanted him back. A major earthquake which occurred in Chile had generated a tsunami that was predicted to arrive in Hilo at midnight.
After Grandpa and his brother left to take the boats out to sea, Grandma was left in charge of all her children. Grandma and her children prepared to evacuate. While the family was waiting for a siren or any other news, the children got ready to go to school, then baked cookies. It was dark when the siren sounded at 8:30 p.m. After a while Grandma′s neighbor strolled by Coconut Island and told grandma everything was calm and beautiful, except for the stinky smell of the ocean churning. Everyone in the neighborhood was waiting for a policeman to come and warn them, but no one came. When grandma heard the siren, she wasn′t eager to evacuate because there were false alarms in the recent past. Also, the big 1946 tsunami only reached the next door neighbor′s house. A relative was using the Sakai′s family truck, so the family was going to evacuate on foot.
Around midnight, Grandma′s neighbor on Reed′s Bay side of her house told her that her slippers were floating in water. Grandma then rushed to look out of her kitchen window towards Coconut Island. With the help of the street lights, she saw water under the Banyan trees. Her heart stopped beating. She was full of fear. Just then, her sons and neighbors came rushing back home saying that there were big mullet flapping in the bushes in the back. The ocean had risen and had silently run up over 500 feet from Reed′s Bay. With water in the front and water in the back Grandma thought seriously that it was time to evacuate.
Grandma and her children hurried out of their house with only important papers and a few belongings. Her neighbors, also leaving, shouted for them to get in the car. They sped towards the Waiakea bridge to get to their relatives homes in Waiakea House Lots. The policeman who was directing traffic at the bridge frantically signaled and shouted at them to turn back. Now they had to get to House Lots by back−tracking on Kamehameha Ave. As they reached the old Sure Save area, a colossal wave was tumbling down the highway from Hukilau direction. Then there was a tremendous explosion. Sparks lit up the sky. A wave had hit the electric power plant. Everyone jumped out of the car and ran to higher ground. When they looked back, water was everywhere. Thinking quickly, the adults decided to climb onto a shed to escape the approaching water. One by one they pushed, shoved, and pulled until everyone was safe on top of the old Sure Save warehouse roof. It is now known as the Martial Arts building.
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.
Grandma did say that this was one of the worst days of her life. The Sakai family lost their home and possessions. Their neighbors lost their homes and possessions, too. The people in the immediate neighborhood died because of the tidal wave. Many people′s lives were affected. The 1960 tsunami did a lot of damage to Hilo. Grandma hopes that there will not be another tsunami like that one. Grandma is thankful that no one in her family got hurt.
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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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