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1999 First Place Winner
Story by Lori Kawamura
Interviewee: Janet Fujimoto
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WHAT A MORNING!!
May 22, 1960, was a normal day. I was at Moto's Inn on Kamehameha Avenue. We were interrupted by warning sounds of sirens, which meant a tidal wave was generated and headed toward Hawaii. I went home to my house on Piopio Street where the Wailoa Visitor′s Bureau is now.
Our family didn′t evacuate because of the false alarms we′ve had. We were all restless and didn'′t get to bed until the morning of May 23, 1960. While falling asleep, I heard voices outside talking about the water level in the canal. The voices stopped and I heard a loud jet plane sound. I looked out my window, and saw sparks flying and a huge wave, around 20 feet coming toward our house. I looked closer and saw the roof of the I. Kitagawa & Company building crumble in. Then my family awoke. We all moved into the living room when the wave hit.
The sound was indescribable. I could hear the wood splintering. We all grabbed each other and before we knew it, our neighbors houses came smashing into ours like a sandwich, we being in the middle. We spun around 2−3 times. All of a sudden there was complete silence and stillness. We hung on to the walls linked by our arms. My brother was the only one hanging on. My father was on the other end hanging on to the floating couch, the rest of us in between. As water seeped inside, I could feel our house sinking, and water came up to my chest. Visions danced through my head about our safety and where we were.
We floated about 5 minutes, but it felt like hours. Suddenly a large jolt hit our house. The water was receding. We all thought we were going to be swept out. It was scarier than the hit, and the house finally stopped moving. Another jolt came and we crashed again, and looked outside for light. I
searched the house for our altar, and lit the candle with shaky hands, and went back. I walked through lots of debris and broken glass. We waited a few hours in the cold water until daylight which seemed like forever.
Friends worked through the debris to get out. We crawled out with only the clothes on our backs and whatever else we could carry. We ended up near the canal where our house would've been. We were actually hit from both sides. Once when the wave hit, and another when the water receded. My father′s car saved our lives. If it wasn′t there, our neighbor′s house would′ve hit us straight on and we would′ve died. The tsunami hit at exactly 1:05 a.m. I know this because the green clock in downtown Hilo stopped when it hit.
Ever since this experience, I feel life is more meaningful. For the longest time, I couldn't go to the ocean and listen to the waves. It brought back too many bad memories. I will always remember that tragic morning. It's something you just can't forget.
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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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