"We here in Hawaii also create our own tsunamis. Most tsunamis are created by big earthquakes scattered around the rim of the Pacific, but here in Hawaii we have our own earthquakes capable of generating tsunamis. The last one occurred in 1975 and was most devastating along the south coast of the island just off where the earthquake was centered, and there were two casualties at a place called Halape in the National Park," Dr. Walter Dudley explains.
Kevin Kodama also goes on to say, "These sized local earthquakes happen periodically and they've happened before and they're going to happen again. In situations like that, because the tsunami happens so fast after the earthquake, you really have to pay attention to local clues. If you have a strong earthquake and you're near the shoreline just head for the hills, head to higher ground immediately. Don't wait for the evacuation notice to come in because it's going to be too late."
"At Halape 1975 there was less than five minutes from the time of the earthquake to when the huge waves came ashore. If you feel an earthquake that's large enough that you have trouble standing up, then that is big enough to have created a tsunami. If I were at the beach and I felt an earthquake, I'm not going to wait around to pick up my body board and my fins, I'm just going to grab my kids and head to high ground immediately," Dr. Dudley also continues saying.