Tips and Info You Need To Know
The Tsunami Sirens
The first work day of each month at 11:45am they test the tsunami warning sirens. Ignore the sirens if they go off at this time (and reassure the other visitors who haven't read these tips.).
But! If it is not the first workday of the month and you are on the beach, run to higher ground immediately! See www.tsunami.org for tips on what to do, history of tsunamis in Hawaii etc.
If you ever see the water recede dramatically at the beach, that is a signal that a tsunami is about to strike. Run like crazy for higher ground.
Hurricane Warnings
The last really bad hurricane we had was Iniki which hit Kauai hard in September of 1992. Maui is fortunate since we don't seem to get as many as Kauai. See Maui Civil Defense for lots of good info.
See the Pacific Hurricane Center for info on hurricanes. We get several possibles every season but few actually hit us. You want to leave Hawai'i, if a hurricane is really going to hit us. Shelters are listed in the phone book but are inadequate for the population we have. We know days before a hurricane really comes so you'll have plenty of time to prepare and hopefully leave on the plane. The last hurricane to hit Maui was Hurricane Estelle 1986. Read more on Hawaii Hurricanes.
Flood Warnings
You'll often flood warnings on your TV and radio. These should not affect you in your hotel. You do need to be very careful about going to Oheo Gulch (some times erroneously called Seven Sacred Pools) and other streams and gulch areas as flash floods have killed unwary visitors during flood watches.
Never, never drive through water on the road. My friend destroyed his car driving through water on the access road behind the airport. This is really serious. We have plenty of roads that seem benign but if the water is flowing across them, they have the potential to eat your car. We have had people washed away and killed after thinking that they could make it through the water flowing across the road.
Earthquakes
Our earthquakes are usually mild (less than 5.0) but 2006 brought a damaging over 5.0 quake which damaged buildings and really shook. The biggest danger is that an earthquake will trigger a tsunami so close by that there is not time to warn us. When you feel an earthquake go to higher ground immediately, if you are on the beach.
