Posted on: Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Lecture to recount tsunami of 1946

Advertiser Staff

A free lecture titled "1946 Tsunami Remembered: Oral Histories of Survivors and Eyewitnesses" will be presented at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Krauss Hall at at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

Warren Nishimoto and Michiko Kodama-Nishimoto of the UH Center for Oral History will relate the drama of the 1946 tsunami using accounts from survivors and witnesses.

On the morning of April 1, 1946, a massive earthquake jolted the sea floor near Alaska's Aleutian Islands, generating a Pacific-wide tsunami. The eastern shore of the Big Island, including Hilo, bore the brunt of the waves that hit the state. The tsunami killed 159 people throughout the Islands, 121 on the Big Island alone. Damage totaled about $26 million.

The lecture includes slides and photographs and two survivors, Jeanne Branch Johnston and Masuo Kino, who will share their stories. The importance of education to minimize the effects of future disasters will also be discussed.

To encourage the collection of stories in local history, Kodama-Nishimoto will also offer a noncredit workshop, "How to Do Oral History," from 1 to 4 p.m. July 26, 28 and 30. The class is $85 plus a $5 materials fee. To register, call 956-8400.