[Posted on December 14, 2006 at 12:24 pm HST]
like todays technoligy..we take things for granted!& when disater stikes! we are fast on technicians to take care of the problems stat! we nor technoligy can be prepared for mother nature.. rather it is gods well or mother nature.. you are in a game called servial & you must take action for your safety to servive what ever comes! I stood by with a scanner,battery operated radio/tv within seconds after the quake, Verizon came thur & I had first hand news via my bodie in San Deago(a tsunumi was not generated)my neibors was informed & the only thing left was eat & wait patiently for the power to restore. godbless all.. til the next one! our technicians should have had the test to weather mother natures forgiven power! wk. Honolulu
william kalani
Honolulu

[Posted on November 6, 2006 at 4:18 am HST]
how many people were injured or killed during oct 15 2006 earthquake in hawaii
Ida Kallman
randolph,ma

[Posted on November 3, 2006 at 9:12 am HST]
I am an 8th grader writtin a report on the 6.7 earthquake and what it did to kealakekua bay's sea life. I whould like it if you caould answer some of my questions such as what did it ddo to the wild life and how can we help.
M.K.C.
kona

[Posted on November 3, 2006 at 9:04 am HST]
I am in 9th grade and I am writing a paper on what the 6.7 seven earthquake did to kealakekua's sea life. do you have any iformation I could use?
marissa
hawaii

[Posted on October 23, 2006 at 7:48 pm HST]
i am an eighth grader at moanalua middle school and im writing a paper about the 6.6 earthquake that shook us all up on sunday. i would strongly appreciate it if you would answer a few of my questions. do any of you know how the earthquake even started? why it happened now and not earlier? what might of caused it? i was wondering so i searched through my news paper at home. i couldn't find answers so um..yea. thankyou for your time.
courtney calicdan
1682 hauiki street

[Posted on October 23, 2006 at 11:41 am HST]
Lawrence, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel sustained some damage, but it is still open. The eighth floor of the main building is closed, as are some rooms in the Beachfront wing, where some lanais collapsed. In all about 80 rooms of the hotel’s 310 units are closed.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 23, 2006 at 3:48 am HST]
Does anyone know how many aftershocks there were after the Oct.15th earthquake? I live on the 25th floor and I swear I felt several aftershocks and thought, no it must be my imagination! Can you please tell my I'm not losing my mind or are my nerves still shaking after the three quakes that day!
Irene Alameida
35 N Kukui St

[Posted on October 21, 2006 at 9:54 am HST]
Yesterday KGMB9 broadcast announced that only some sirens are solor powered and therefore some would not work when the power was down. Can you check your facts again. FACTS WILL SAVE LIVES You posted: [Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:17 pm HST] Civil Defense officials say the sirens here are solar-powered and triggered by radio waves. The Honolulu Advertiser Honolulu
Sue
Waikiki

[Posted on October 21, 2006 at 2:45 am HST]
Status of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, we first went there in 1963
Lawrence Wheeler
Indiana

[Posted on October 20, 2006 at 11:04 pm HST]
Why were the non-HECO generators shut down? They were owned by private IPPS (Independant Power Producers).
Sam
Ewa Beach

[Posted on October 20, 2006 at 7:18 pm HST]
HECO has changed its story about the power outage, stating the first two generators were manually shut down rather than automatically as originally reported. It is believed that this action precipitated the system shut down and it could have been avoided had there been competent personnel and procedures in place. HECO is not being forthright, the system shut down because of human failure rather than equipment failure. HECO is trying to avoid responsibility. They know exactly what went wrong and who is responsible but does not want to tell the truth. They maintain they did the best because if they did not do as they did, it could have been much worse; only conjecture. They exercerbated the problem, had they acting properly a system wide power failure could have been avoided.
Anonymous
Aiea

[Posted on October 20, 2006 at 2:14 pm HST]
HECO says they need one billion dollars to fix their system, yet that's about how much their parent company HEI earned in profit alone in the last four years. Between 2003-05, they averaged $268 million in profit. Most of this money that they've taken out of the Hawaii economy is going to pay dividends to out of state investors. I realize that company's need to make a profit, but can't HEI use some of that profit to fix their system?
Anonymous
Honolulu

[Posted on October 20, 2006 at 1:10 pm HST]
heco has repeatly said it needs more capacity to meet energy needs. what kind of power is the proposed rail supposed to run on? what will happen to riders in an event like this?
darren murakami
honolulu

[Posted on October 20, 2006 at 12:44 pm HST]
Chris, Red Cross in Hawaii has been directly helping people on the Big Island. To donate, you can send a check to American Red Cross, 4155 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, HI 96816. If you prefer to donate over the telephone, call 734-2101. You can also go online at http://hawaiiredcross.org.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 20, 2006 at 9:29 am HST]
Friends and family abroad are asking how can they help. Besides FEMA assistance, are there necessity items that earthquake victims need? If someone wants to make a monetary contribution where should they send their contributions? Is there a local group directly serving individuals who's been displaced? Thank you, Chris
Chris Kaakau
Wai`anae

[Posted on October 19, 2006 at 3:58 pm HST]
Did anyone write about the many unselfish people who help in the after-quake, like Ivan Shigaki of Paauilo who rode his ATV to the collapsed bridge and flagged down cars to warn them about the hazard before the police arrived? He might have saved a bunch of lives by doing this deed. I'm sure there are more people like Ivan.
Rolann Regidor
Honolulu

[Posted on October 19, 2006 at 2:32 pm HST]
Mike, some cell tower sites have generators and some do not. It’s a carrier-by-carrier decision that hinges on how much power a site requires and the foreseeable duration of a power outage. There’s no federal requirement that wireless companies have generators at their cell sites.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 19, 2006 at 1:17 pm HST]
Mark, All indications are that in three weeks everything will basically be back to normal. Most of the state already is. Tourists are arriving daily and traveling throughout the islands doesn't appear to be a problem.
The Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 19, 2006 at 12:09 pm HST]
Can you list the cities that were most affected by the earthquake, nearest the epicenter? Do you have such a list by zip code?
Lisa Pendergast
New Jersey

[Posted on October 19, 2006 at 8:14 am HST]
where is the safest place to go in a condo when an earthquake occurs. is the safest place to stand under the door jam, or hide under strong tables?
mari
Honolulu

[Posted on October 19, 2006 at 7:04 am HST]
Why do some wirless providers have generators at their sites and are able to provide 911 service during disasters like the recent earthquake. Others (T-Mobile) had the majority of their sites down because they dont have generators. Since they are 911 providers is there not a govt requirement that they have generators at their sites etc ???
Mike S
Pacific Heights

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 6:53 pm HST]
is hawaii going to be accessable or up in running in about 3 weeks from noe i mean can you still get from one part of kona to the other with no problems .. and what about the other islands maui, and oahu are all roads accessable ??
mark
vancouver bc

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 5:22 pm HST]
HECO buys power from three IPPs (Independant Power Producers) AES Hawaii, Kalaeloa Partners & H-Power (garbage to energy) plants locate in Campbell Industrial Park. They also went off the power grid. So why is HECO all to blame if these three IPPs also provide poower to Oahu?
Sam
Ewa Beach

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 3:01 pm HST]
M, We ran a story in Tuesday's Advertiser by Johnny Brannon where scientists said they believe the fault line was previously unknown. Scientists also believe the quake was likely caused by surging lava and rock that built up a massive weight over many years and that the quake was very unusual, centered deep below the ocean floor west of the Big Island.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 12:40 pm HST]
What kind of fault line caused the earthquake?
M
Florida

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 11:44 am HST]
HECO is the only provider of electricity here in Honolulu, so whatever they decide to do, like shut down all the generaters, there's nothing we can do about it. We are all held hostages of HECO when they decide to do what they did.
mel
honolulu

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 10:29 am HST]
Bill, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has closed its top floor and part of its Beachfront wing, where three lanais collapsed. The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel sustained some water damage. Both hotels are open, and the hotels reported no injuries.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 7:39 am HST]
Was there serious damage at the Mauna Kea Beach hotel from the earthquake? Was the Bamboo Restaurant in Havea (Havi) Damaged?
Terri Painter
Clovis California

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 7:29 am HST]
After I got a radio working with a battery I found 3 stations operating, 2 of which were playing music. KSSK was the only source of real information (a great job!). Is this what we can expect in other situations like this? We seem so prepared when we have power but unprepared when it disappears.
Tom Lanik
Kalihi Valley

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 6:09 am HST]
On the 15th, someone had asked about damage reports regarding the Mauna Kea Hotel and the Hapuna Prince Hotel. I didn't see a response and I'm also interested in knowing what's happened there. Fragmentary reports have stated that a part of a building at the Mauna Kea collapsed although no one was injured. Do you have any more information regarding the status of these two hotels? Thanks.
Bill
Los Angeles

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 5:52 am HST]
if there was a big earth quake like in ewa beach like a 6.7 would we have enough time to leave or would a tsunami hit us real fast .becouse ewa is like sea level so i was just woundering .
paul
ewa beach

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 2:56 am HST]
Does anyone know if there was any damage at the Kona Hawaiian Resort in Kailua-Kona? Thanks for any info you can give. Ken
Ken
NY

[Posted on October 18, 2006 at 12:49 am HST]
Why is the USGS website reporting the magnitude of earthquake (from last Sunday) as minor readings for Lahaina (eg. 3.7 or less) when it was far stronger than that. I have been in a 4.5 in CA and know the strength of this one was far stronger than that. I would like to know if there is a more accurate reading elsewhere?
Jane
Lahaina

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 10:57 pm HST]
Living on Oahu, up to about 6yrs ago, I was used to seeing Oahu Civil Defense volunteers everywhere when there was a disaster. They assisted with traffic control and other things when needed. On the Big Island, when the earthquake struck, the poor Police, already understaffed had to handle everything alone. I heard detectives even had to help out with duties. Why doesnt the Big Island have any type of Civil Defense volunteer program/training like Oahu?
Mitch
Kealakekua

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 9:52 pm HST]
Even if only two generators initally went down it caused a power surge and brought the other generators down because the rest of the other generators couldn't handle the load. There's not enought time to shed load. It happened instantaneous.
Sam
Ewa Beach

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 8:16 pm HST]
I believe that HECO made a critical error on Sunday in allowing the whole system to power down. Since only two generators were affected by the earthquake, they should have powered down the system to handle the imbalance created by the shutdown. In other words, they should have interceded the automated shutdown by manually closing down areas which were being affected by the two affected generators so that the system could have rebalanced itself without going to complete shutdown. Due to their indecision they exercebated the problem and caused problems for everyone and potentially put many sick people at risk who relied on electric power to help sustain them. This is really unacceptable; they made the problem larger than it should have been and should be held resonsible for damages.
Rick Tubania
Aiea

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 7:15 pm HST]
Carol, this is what our reporter was told: The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows has reopened its top three floors to customers after an assessment of the area Monday. The hotel closed the floors as a precaution following Sunday’s 6.7- and 6.0-magnitude earthquakes centered off the Kohala Coast. Hotel general manager Kurt Matsumoto yesterday said there were no injuries and the building didn’t sustain any structural damage. The Mauna Lani has some “light cosmetic issues” such as chipped paint and damaged ceiling tiles, and the hotel is also replacing some televisions that fell during the earthquake, “but overall everything is fine,” Matsumoto said. “If you didn’t see the news on Sunday and you walked into the hotel today, you wouldn’t know that an episode happened,” he said.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 6:53 pm HST]
does anyone know the actual condition of the mauna lani hotel? planning a trip there, but not sure if hotel is giving straight answers about damage
carol
wisconsin

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 5:56 pm HST]
6.7 was the magnitude at the quake's epicenter. What is the estimated magnitude at Honolulu? With the pssibility of high magnitude quakes in Hawaii why do we not more stringent building codes that are more protective as in California? Heaven help us if the Diamond Head fault ever let go. Oh My!
Dutch Schubert
66 Queen St.

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 4:37 pm HST]
(continued from previous message) October 16, 2006 12:30 a.m. 222,000 customers restored. More parts of Kailua, Waimanalo, Kaneohe, Keehi, Kapalama, Waiakamilo, Aina Haina, Waialae are restored 1:01 a.m. 234,000 customers restored. Leeward areas include more areas of Waipahu, Mililani, Waiawa, Kunia, Makaha. Windward: Kailua – Lanikai, Waihee, Kalaheo, Kuilima. Honolulu: Nuuanu, Lakeside, Mapunapuna, Waiakamilo, McCully, Manoa 1:55 a.m. Power restored to remaining circuits*. Honolulu: more parts of Kalihi, Liliha, Nuuanu, Punchbowl, Kahala, Kaimuki, Sand Island, Makiki, McCully, Moiliili, Pauoa, Downtown areas. Windward: more parts of Kaneohe. Leeward: Kunia, Waipahu. *Important note: small pockets of customers in various locations may still have been out due to individual
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 4:36 pm HST]
(continued from previous message) 9:00 p.m. 114,000 customers restored - addition of Kaneohe Marine Corps Station, more areas of Pearl City, Ewa Beach, Waiawa 9:15 p.m. 134,000 customers restored – pick up of parts of Kalihi, Piikoi, areas of Waipahu, Kapahulu. 10:00 p.m. 147,000 customers restored – addition of most of Waikiki and parts of Makaloa, Kapahulu, Puuloa. More areas of Aiea and Pearl City are restored. 11:30 p.m. 202,000 customers restored – areas include parts of Kakaako, Kewalo, McCully, Manoa, Kaimuki, St. Louis Heights, Niu Valley, Hawaii Kai, Kahala, Waialae. On the windward side, parts of Kaneohe, Aikahi, Hauula and Punaluu. Leeward: parts of Mililani. (continued on next message)
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 4:35 pm HST]
(continued from previous message) 4:00 p.m. 46,000 customers restored – pick up of parts of Ft. Weaver Road, Kunia and Mililani 5:30 p.m. 74,000 customers restored – addition of parts of Mililani, Wahiawa, Haleiwa, Hickam, Waialua and Makakilo. The Honolulu International Airport, Pearl Harbor, and Hickam Air Force Base also are restored. 6:30 p.m. 87,000 customers restored – addition of parts of Keehi, Makalapa, Sand Island, Iwilei, and areas near Neal Blaisdell Center. 8:00 p.m. 95,000 customers restored – addition of parts of Kailua, Enchanted Lake, Olomana; more parts of Pearl City, Makakilo, Ft. Weaver, Ewa Beach, Waipio and Waiawa (continued on next message)
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 4:31 pm HST]
Hawaiian Electric Co. release this information today on the times when various neighborhoods had their power restored: October 15, 2006 Oahu Earthquake Outage Restoration Chronology MAJOR AREAS RESTORED (broad categories of areas only) ESTIMATED RUNNING TOTAL AS OF TIME INCREMENTS INDICATED 12:05 p.m. 570 customers restored - parts of Waiau, Waimalu, Pearl City 1:00 p.m. 5,100 customers restored - includes pick up of additional customers in above areas and parts of Aiea 3:00 p.m. 34,000 customers restored - addition of parts of Kahe, Makaha, Nanakuli, Waikele and Ewa Beach areas 4:00 p.m. 46,000 customers restored - pick up of parts of Ft. Weaver Road, Kunia and Mililani (continued on next message)
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 3:47 pm HST]
Living close to Ala Moana Beach, however blocked out by all the high rises, it took 1 hour before any news came on advising of no tsunami alert. I think my husband and I would have already been dead. Whose kuleana is it? Civil Defense and sirens or the radio stations. My electricity came on at 9:39pm then the transformer across from our apartment exploded. There was no fire, but I contacted emergency personnel just in case. The fire department came and eased my emotions. HECO came at 3:13am and fixed the transformer in one hour. Mahalo to them. But most of all to all that complain of who is responsible for what. Well we all are. But I am very thankful my family and I are alive. I ate chips for dinner. I survived. Mahalo Ke Akua. Stop building. Excessive pressure on earth and environment.
Coranne
Kaka'ako

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 3:09 pm HST]
Jorge, Aftershocks continue to shake the Big Island but scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey say they are diminishing in both number and strength. The current scientific thinking is that earthquakes release energy so it's unlikely that Hawai'i will experience another earthquake soon.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 3:09 pm HST]
Pat, Sunday's earthquakes were actually two separate seismic events centered along two different fault lines, one of them that was previously unknown to seismologists. Earthquakes on the Big Island have been known to trigger eruptions and Big Island eruptions have been known to trigger earthquakes. But so far there has been no volcanic activity directly connected to Sunday's earthquakes, which scientists say makes it unlikely that there will be any new eruptions soon.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 2:44 pm HST]
You would think that HECO would power up places or areas that's critical first like the airport or sewer plants. A friend who lives in the Pearl City area got his power back on at 2:00 but the airport got power at 6:30. What's with that? Is this a political thing who gets power first because it's an elction year? I wonder?
mel
honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 1:44 pm HST]
Marlo, you asked if any high-rises in Waikiki or Honolulu were affected structurally. Damages are still being assessed, but we haven\'t heard of any significant structural damage yet. There were cosmetic damages to some buildings, but damage assessment at many high rises is still taking place.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 1:18 pm HST]
HECO said that the other generators couldn't compensate for the 12% loss of the 2 generators. That's a pretty lame excuse considering the time of day. On a Sunday, early morning, very low power use. I guess that's the best excuse they could come up with to increase the rates to improve their ability to provide power in an emergency. Everything is about money.
mel
honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 1:16 pm HST]
I want to know how they determined the sequencing of restoring power. I would think the Honolulu International Airport should have been one of the first to be restored! We were scheduled to depart at 6:00 PM to take a cruise on the East Coast! When the power went off at almost 12 hours prior, we assumed we'd be okay. The airlines kept informing us that if they get power - they will definitely GO! Unfortunately that didn't happen and our flight got cancelled. We missed the cruise ship on the East Coast and are out $10,000..period!! The cruiseline will not even consider a credit. Is HECO going to help us recover this loss?
Kathleen
Makakilo

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 12:58 pm HST]
Why didn't Civil Defense interupt the radio stations soon after the intial earthquake. I thought that's what they are supposed to do. They have that test on the 1st of every month stating that "this is a test of the emergency broadcasting system........" What happened to the system? What do the once a month test for? Wasn't this an emergency? Or what do they consider an emergency? Communication to the public right away is so important during times like this.
mel
Honolulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 12:27 pm HST]
What ever happened to rolling blackouts that they subjected us to in the past? Did HECO learn nothing from the 1991 electrical fiasco? Can we assume that HECO has no diaster plan? This earthquake did very minor damage on Oahu, what would have happened if this were closer to Oahu and we loss more than 12% of the power generators? It is scary that a utility company which we are so dependant upon has such poor planning. I can understand how it may take 24+ hours to bring up Oahu after it was shut down. My question is WHY was it shut down to begin with. Please provide an answer that makes sense. Your 12% doesn't add up to anything. Yes I am glad the legislature is looking into this "electrical fiasco".
Liz
Hawaii Kai

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 12:20 pm HST]
I am not an electrical engineer and so my approach to this problem with HECO is more of a common sense approach. Their response is that since the two generators providing 12% (twelve) of the power load shut down the entire system had to shut down to protect itself?? So therefore HECO has designed an electrical grid that requires an all or nothing approach. If one goes down, the whole thing shuts down. Thank goodness our other utilities are not so short sighted. Can you imagine if our sewer system worked the same way, one plant goes out and they all shut down? With all the technology we have, HECO has no way of balancing out the power grid for a 12% loss. Not to mention the fact that it was a SUNDAY! HECO did you just hold OAHU hostage so you could get an increase?
Liz
Hawaii Kai

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 12:11 pm HST]
Read with interest Unemori\'s comments on pecking order for power restoration. This being the case, the same customers can expect to be last time after time. All residential customers pay the same, so those who have to wait the longest deserve compensation. Costs for food spoilage and inconvenience are significantly higher at the 20hr point than the 4hr! A suggestion: when the entire system goes down, find the average time it took to restore service; for every hour a customer waited beyond this average, give them a rebate of $5. This rebate should be automatic based on when the area was back on line and not linked to a cumbersome application process. Not only will customers at the end of the pecking order receive just compensation but HECO might speed the process to avoid money loss.
kate
mililani

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 9:00 am HST]
Why is ok for the Civil Defense and Governor to know that there is no tsunami and not the rest of the people? What kind of communication system is in place to let people know there is no tsunami or if there is one? The radio stations did a very poor job of getting us timely information (should have been immediately after the quake that we got info. whether to go to high ground or whether things were ok).
Chad
Waikiki

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 8:40 am HST]
i was camping at malaekahan and was dissapointed to find that no one tried to advise campers to head to high ground for safety. there seemed to be no emergency evacuation plan in place. in the 8 minute window of time before a tsunami could have wiped us out, we would not have had time to tune in to radio station which were not even on yet. some campers slept right through the quake. we need to be more aware and prepared. the EBS seemed more concerned with batteries and toilet paper and i found them to be less than helpful! i shoudl hope that we do not need a devasting disaster to happen before realizing that we need better evacuation planning on shorelines!
clawz
honlulu

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 8:26 am HST]
What effect did the 6.7 earthquake and subsequent smaller quakes have on the Big Island volcano's eruption activity -- Kilauea, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea?
Pat Acton
Oak Harbor, WA

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 8:11 am HST]
My son just moved to Honolulu in late July. Now, I'm concerned. I know the latest earthquake who hits Hawaii before this one, in 1983, was almost forgot. Even so, I ask: what is the probability to another earthquake shakes the Islands again? How soon could it happen? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month? What is the forecast for another one?
Jorge Luiz Alves
Brazil

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 7:44 am HST]
I want to know how come the electricity took so long to be restored? My electricity did not come back on until 11pm. How does HECO determine which grid gets electric first? My husband called to say he saw the electric restored to the H3 around 9pm or so and yet my electric was not restored for hours later.
Teri
Hauula

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 7:19 am HST]
My one question is this: Why were there still areas without electricity yesterday? Yesterday morning, being monday, my husband and I had to get ready for work by candle light and cold water. HECO should have all power restored by the previous evening. It just doesn't make sense to almost everyone why it took so long. When I called their customer service line, they couldn't even tell me if power was restored to our area or not by lunch time. If everything was working correctly before the quake, then it shouldn't have taken so long to restore power to Oahu.
Darrlyn
Mililani Mauka

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 6:36 am HST]
On Sunday morning, right after the quake, I twice attempted to reach the police using 911 from my home in Laie. The phone rang, but no one answered. It's always bothered me that here in Hawaii we are instructed to dial 911 even for non-emergencies, and this illustrates the potential problem in tying up the phone lines by doing so. This is especially alarming given the fact that Oahu suffered little, if any, direct physical damage from the quake, only the considerable financial costs associated with the 20 plus hour power outage. I shudder to think what might happen in the event of a true disaster.
Barney
Laie

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 6:35 am HST]
If HECO needs to "take down the entire system to prevent damage to other generators", what is the backup plan? From this explanation every time a couple of generators shut down the entire system will have to be shut down. It would be a good idea if the other generators (or sections of the power grid) in the system had the ability to isolated themselves from the entire system. This way only the affected areas will be down and not the entire system.
Steve
Pearl Harbor

[Posted on October 17, 2006 at 6:18 am HST]
Were any of the high-rise hotels in Waikiki or Honolulu affected structurally from the quake?
Marlo Lasko
Las Vegas, NV

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 9:35 pm HST]
since the power went out ... would the sirens of the civil defence still have sounded if there was an actual tsunami?
danny
kahala

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:46 pm HST]
My son just moved to Honolulu in late August. Yesterday was very difficult for him since he didn't know where to go to find food or open stores. Others seemed to know. Is there a specific radio station, publication or anything that would help him? He stayed in his condo like people were told to do and ate chips all day. Today he talked to others who drove around and bought bbq steaks, bentos, etc. Also, his condo's stairwell was dark. Is there code requiring a highrise condo stairwell to have emergency powered lighting?
Frances
California

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:27 pm HST]
To Julia Berry of California who asked whether homeowners should get earthquake insurance: Most homeowner insurance does not cover earthquake damage. You can buy supplemental insurance to cover earthquake damage but some people consider it expensive and it typically has a high deductible. Even in California, where earthquakes are common, only 13.3 percent of homeowners have earthquake coverage, according the Insurance Information Institute.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:12 pm HST]
To Paul in Kalihi and others who asked why it took so long for power to be restored on Oahu: HECO says the earthquake caused two of its 13 Oahu generators to shut down. To make sure the other 11 generators were not damaged by the extra demand, HECO's automated system began shutting down generators one at a time until all were stopped. To bring the generators back up is a long process in which workers must allow the generator to warm up. "Once a power plant shuts down, it can take 12 hours to restart because they have to go through a thorough checklist,” according to James Bushnell, research director for the University of California Energy Institute in Berkeley, Calif. “If that happens, in some cases, it can take several days to restore power."
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:52 pm HST]
To Kim and others who asked about the order in which Oahu neighborhoods were turned on: HECO said they decided which neighborhoods to turn on based on the capacity that was coming up. For example if they brought up a generator with 55 megawatt capacity, they would send that power to an area of town that uses about 55 megawatts. HECO said they followed a methodical process of balancing load with generating capacity as it was coming up.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:38 pm HST]
Lisa from Kapaa: Earthquakes are only measured at the epicenter, so a magnitude for each island is not available.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:28 pm HST]
Judy Hensley: NCL America kept the Pride of Aloha in Honolulu overnight last night to accommodate as many guests as possible who were unable to depart Hawaiçi and to hold the ship for passengers whose flights may have been delayed until today, the company said. The Pride of Aloha, which usually departs Honolulu on Sundays for weeklong cruises around the Islands, was to depart Honolulu at 8 p.m. Monday. The ship’s call into Kona had to be cancelled, and the remainder of the cruise ship’s itinerary will operate as scheduled, NCL said. “We recommend if passengers cannot make it to the ship by 8 pm (latest arrival in Honolulu by 6 pm); they should join the ship in Nawiliwili, Kaua`i on Tuesday or Wednesday,” NCL said.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:24 pm HST]
Fern: HECO said they had to take down the entire system to prevent damage to other generators, which could take weeks to repair.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:17 pm HST]
Civil Defense officials say the sirens here are solar-powered and triggered by radio waves.
The Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 5:13 pm HST]
By the time we got power back at 1:00am, pearl city had been lit up for almost 7 hours! Why didn't HECO consider rolling blackouts? Why didn't they? I want to know...
fern
salt lake

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 4:30 pm HST]
"Sirens rely on electricity and would therefore be of limited use if the system is destroyed by a local tsunami-generating earthquake." SOURCE: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/geology/pdf/or_sp35.pdf Can you let us know if this statement above holds true for Hawaii?
Kathleen
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 3:28 pm HST]
I would like to know what would happen in a real emergency situation to warn us of a tsunami after an earthquake? because the radio stations did not broadcast until 8am or even 9am and that would have been too late to warn us of a tsunami. We found on Sunday morning that there was no way of finding out any information at all - the cell phone lines were jammed and we couldn't get through, nothing came on the TV before the power went off, the land line phone didn't work because of no power, the radio stations were just playing music, the siren didn't tell us things were ok, there was no-one around to let us know that things were ok. It seems like we would have had no warning whatsoever - which is reminiscent of the South-east Asia earthquake/tsunami situation.
Sandy
Hawaii Kai

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 3:24 pm HST]
Oceanic: Reboot before calling in cable problem Advertiser Staff Oceanic Time Warner Cable is fully operational but individuals are reporting problems with Internet and television reception despite the restoration of power. Norman Santos, Oceanic's vice president of operations, said people might try to reboot — unplug for 30 seconds — and try again before calling 625-2100 to report problems. "In any kind of an outage like we suffered yesterday, there are going to be individuals customer who may not be getting the service but as far as we know across the state we are up, the majority is up," Santos said. Residents should wait until the digital display is on before trying to switch to channels, he warned. The company is monitoring its entire system and sees no big pockets where service is
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 2:56 pm HST]
Our honeymooning friends were scheduled on a flight into Honolulu from the mainland east coast on Sunday, scheduled to board a cruise ship. Did cruise ships pick up passengers as scheduled?
judy hensley
Colorado

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 1:32 pm HST]
What would the magnitude of an earthquake have to be in order to have a building collapse, I live in a 25+ year old building downtown?
joyce
Downtown Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 11:16 am HST]
During the 1989 quake in San Francisco, we had our power back within 5 hours in the East Bay while the Bay Bridge was collapsing on cars and San Francisco was burning to the ground. With no major damage, it shouldn't take so long to restore power on any of the islands! But then again, it's also a good idea to dump gallons of raw sewage in the Ala Wai....who the hell is going to take control during these "major" disasters?
renae nakagawa
honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:52 am HST]
I would just like to say thank you to HECO for all their hard work and efforts to get the power back on. This is not anyone's fault, and patients is needed from the communities. I would also like to say that there should be no speculations about a pecking order in place for regenerating the power to homes and businesses.
Kim
kaneohe

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:47 am HST]
Kudo's to KSSK and the many who persisted in getting news, relevant instruction, language translations, knowlege and instructions to them for the rest of us left in the pending dark without power during this shaking moment of Island history. I want to know if the water supply was fully or nearly depleted during the power outage and how close we were to having no potable water and if so in which communities on Oahu or other islands. Thank you
Marvin
Kaneohe

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:38 am HST]
Would the siran system to warn of a pending Tsumami work if there is no electicity everywhere like yesterday after the quake at 7:08 am? I will be very disappointed if civil defense did not have a method of distributing emergency messages or alerts on a separate power source that can broadcast information like "Tsunami or not" warnings if electric grid drops out everywhere else. Since there was no Tsunami generated, the silent sirans were doing their job - which was "nothing". But if a Tsumnami was approaching and pending would there be any sirans without electrical power from HECO?
Marvin
Kaneohe

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:32 am HST]
Where will the answers to these questions be posted?
Kerry Hoeschen
Minnesota

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:11 am HST]
At about 2:25 I called KSSK to get an update on the power shortage and wasn't very happy with the response from the dj on duty. I first greeted him with a "good morning, I'm calling to get an update on the situation". He provided the number for HECO and gave me an update as to what he knew. Unfortunately, the number for HECO was temporarily down until business hours if you were trying to leave a location on outages for in your area. I then called the station back and asked the dj if he could at least take our location down and report it when he does his morning updates. His response was one of a frustrated sigh and a non-enthusiastic acceptance. I was under the impression that radio stations operating during a crisis was for public awareness. Was I wrong? Should I have called 911
R Namuo
Makakilo

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:02 am HST]
The epicenter was 6.7 or so, what was the magnitude for each Island?
Lisa
Kapaa

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 10:01 am HST]
Why is it that O'ahu is more than 150 miles from the epicenter of the quake, but the power was affected for the entire island? Then, our power came on about 8 pm or so, then off again @ 8:40. Our power wasn't restored until about 5:20 this morning. Being that we're so close to Kaua'i, I would assume that their power would be out as well. But they didn't suffer any outages from what we understand. What was the main cause of the outage? And, why does it take so long to get it restored? Also, most of our refrigerated items will be thrown out just for good measure. Making certain that possible bacteria growth doesn't impact our family negatively. Is there any relief we can apply for with respect to loss of perishables?
Steven Tomas
Makakilo

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 9:31 am HST]
Sad to see some of food stores taking advantage of the earthquake emergency by practicing price gauging on the unprepare resident in this type of situations and making a kill for profits. Example, AAA Local BBQ in front of old Diae(Makeha St), two scoops of rice and one egg or two slices of thin Spam by changing $6.
Kem
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 9:19 am HST]
First...KUDO'S TO KSSK FOR PROVIDING THE MUCH NEED INFORMATION TO ALL AFFECTED BY THIS TRAMADIC EVENT. MAHALO. Question/Comment: Why the HELL can't our state officials see or even have for foresight in what they call disaster plan to power our ONLY way of getting people off the island? The Honolulu INTERNATIONAL Airport should be up there with police, fire and other emergency providers that should be powered in the event of an emergency. Another quake is bound to happen and our fancy HECO turbine generators are bound to freak and shutdown, AGAIN. Hey...granted everything cost money. Let's ask the airlines if they'd like to contribute. OR the feds, their TSA equipment is the major hold up for the unfortunate passengers leaving. They should contribute. Lucky we live Hawaii ;o|
James H.
Kahalu'u, Hawaii

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 9:11 am HST]
What unknow reasons are there in understand the varying capabilities of Aloha Airlines ability to transport inter-island flyers quicker than HAL? HAL told it's customers that because of downed electricial systems, HAL could not process flyers. Is the whole terminal on the same electrical grid? If not, why? HAL flyers had to decide; find hotels & most were not taking new rez because of the emergency, stay on the street if no friends, retn next day on stand-by or rebook w/o penalty. All does not show "aloha spirit" except for the Salvation Army's, Mahalo to them. This is a "wake-up" for Hawaii to start looking at alternative energy, which would have defrayed HECO consumers from being in the dark as long as they had. Have bigger hotels hook up their roof tops to photovoltic panels
Sandi
Lihue

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 8:10 am HST]
We own timeshare in the Bay Club in Waikoloa on The Big Island and were planning to spend a few weeks in November/December. can you tell us the extent of the damage to the facility and the surrounding community. Thank you.
Ken Ballan
Hillsborough, NJ

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 7:48 am HST]
I am stumped as to why it took so long to get power back...I am an electrician and find it difficult to see why it took over 14hours to get power back in Kalihi...Is there a real reason why no power? All other times power was out we had it restored within like 4 hours...why not this time? Seems there were not enough people brought in to fix the problems. Aren't all supposed to report to work in an emergency? Do you know the amount of people who were actually working on the problem or just a number provided by Heco? So many unanswered questions that have no rhyme or reasons as to why they were not resolved sooner. Thank You for your time.
Paul
Kalihi

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 7:13 am HST]
Why is it that some locations on Oahu, like Aiea and Mililani have there power restored much sooner. Is there an engineering distribution answer to my question, or is it a policital answer. Which neighborhoods do the HECO employees live in? Please don't tell me Aiea, Newtown, or Mililani.
Pali Resident
Nuuanu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:54 am HST]
Where is the Mayor of Honolulu on this? I haven't heard him any comments from him, just Bill. What's going on?
Totes
Kailau

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:50 am HST]
My fiance and I will be in Oahu on Sunday for our honeymoon. We're staying at the Outrigger Waikiki On The Beach - do you forsee any problems for us at that time? We're concerned!
Traci
Virginia

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:34 am HST]
Could this have anything to do with N. Korea & the atomic testing?
Joan T Dowd
Hicksville, N Y

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 6:30 am HST]
I live at the top of Aiea Heights. Last night, we had electrical power restored just past 9:00pm, however, it only lasted for a few minutes and we lost power again. This morning I left home at 5:10am and we still have no electrical power.
sandy
Aiea Heights Drive

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 4:04 am HST]
How did the aging facilities of the Waikiki Aquarium hold up?
Mary Pickett
Taos, NM

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 4:04 am HST]
I grew up in Kona with a misunderstanding that quakes don't hit the other Isles. I currently reside in a highrise in Town and now wonder if the building codes for Honolulu highrises stand up to modern standards for "quake safety". Even after the quake stopped we were still swaying a bit after. Seeing as how we are the 4th U.S. city in rank for Highrise population, I wonder if maybe we could get some answers about this. Aloha to everyone and blessings to the land that we live upon that no one was was hurt.
Judah
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 3:45 am HST]
my daughter is a student atUH/Manoa.I can't make contact with her T-mobile cell,UH,or through e-mail+text messaging.She is in Johnson Hall. How extensive is damage there?Do you have any suggestions on how to contact her-we've tried the Red Cross.Mahalo,Lu
LU
Michigan

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 3:21 am HST]
Should property owners in Hawaii get earthquake insurance? Is it available? Is there an alternate way for damaged Big Island homes to get money if regular homeowners' insurance won't cover damage and they don't have earthquake insurance?
Julia Berry
California

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 2:55 am HST]
I would also like to know why there are'nt any alarms to alert the citizens. Aren't there some sort of emergency plans that the government had prepared??? This isnt the first time that electricity had gone out.. this is also not the first time that there was an quake.. Maybe about couple months ago in Honolulu. there was also an earthquake of some small magnitude... The authorities should've foreseen this problem anbd could've been prepared yet they aren't. Why?
Shige
Honolulu

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 2:27 am HST]
Dose or when will, " Ewa Beach have power and water?" My child and my Grandchildren are living there. Thank you and please e-mail me.
Audrey Haynes
Millin Ga.

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 12:27 am HST]
Will there be school on Monday at Punahou? The phones are still down so it seems that the campus does not have electricity yet. What about lunch for the students?
Student
Aiea

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 12:19 am HST]
Please post an updated list of areas that have and do not have power.
Kevin
Halawa

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 12:05 am HST]
The power is on now at most buildings. The class will be normal at UH tomorrow.
uh student
manoa

[Posted on October 16, 2006 at 12:01 am HST]
your latest update regarding uh classes is confusing. . . it says that classes will resume monday, but the story says only if the power is up on campus. . . so that still doesn't answer the question, especially for those commuting early in the morning. . . is there power on campus? please let us know as you find out. mahalo for all you hard work.
uh student
waipahu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 11:52 pm HST]
I noticed the posting for UH, but what about HPU will we have class?
jessica
Kailua

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 11:45 pm HST]
I finally got my electricity turned on (11:25pm) nearly 16 hours later why didn't we do rolling black outs so we could share in the limited power?
Randy
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 11:23 pm HST]
This is a sign the infidels are feeling the wrath of Allah. With the crime, drugs and the non believers of Allahs wishes your future is doomed.
Fatima Kalid al Sharred
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 11:11 pm HST]
come on people , the Big Island is a living breathing volcano. What is the big surprise. The chop suey people of Hawaii should try living on Guam for real quakes.
Erik Yamamoto
Waikiki

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 10:58 pm HST]
why did you wait to the last minute to put gas in? I'll let you know if I find any gas stations with gas still. good luck!
Mark
Queens

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 10:52 pm HST]
I work in Honolulu, gotta drive back to Waianae, Are there any gas stations open, pleeaassee?!
Lita @ Queens
Waianae

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 10:44 pm HST]
Is there any advice on trips to Big Island? I was scheduled to fly there tomorrow but just as a tourist. So what's the situation? Is it going to be back to business as usual besides the road damage etc. or should I stay in Oahu and lose the money for flight and rental car?
Arno
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 10:40 pm HST]
The public has been told that what shut off the power was that there are automatic sensors that sense tremor vibration and that is what "trips" the shut-off. Why is it then that the power went off 10 minutes later than when the tremors occurred?
Dave
Kapolei

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 9:36 pm HST]
Why does it take so long to get the power back up? HECO said that the generators had to be shut down to prevent damage, so there was nothing wrong with them but it still took more than 10 hrs. to get power to some places and at 9:30pm more than half the island is still out of power. It's a big joke! What if they were damaged, does that mean we would have no power for weeks? HECO systems is outdated and lack todays technology. With what they charge us for electricity, I would expect more than what I have seen today. The Governor should be looking into this problem.
Mel
Palolo Valley

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 9:33 pm HST]
How does the supermarkets keep their perishable foods from spoiling after this long electrical outage since they have it in open refrigeration? Do they monitor the temperature in their freezer? Thank you.
George Nakahara
Makiki

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 9:32 pm HST]
is there school tomorrow?
person
kapahulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 8:52 pm HST]
for long last the earthquake
armando martinez
ewa beach

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 8:16 pm HST]
i would like to know where the management team that decides where to turn electric on first live. do they turn on electric at there home communities first?
me
oahu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 8:02 pm HST]
When we had Hurricane Iwa in 1982, it took 8 days for power to be restored to Kaneohe. Will Kaneohe - Kahaluu be one the last to be restored again? My Aloha goes out to everyone, & I hope everyone is doing okay, now we have to worry about families in the non- war zones.
Reenie
Las Vegas

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:58 pm HST]
we live 1/2 way up makakilo, on palailai st. when should we expect any water at all? electricity was back up about 530pm i just thought we were suppose to have water when the electricity came back up. mahalo, kimann west
kimann west
MAKAKILO

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:55 pm HST]
Is anyone else having trouble with T-mobile cell phone coverage? I'm concerned that people are trying to call to make sure we're ok but are not able to get through.
Cathy
Kaneohe

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:43 pm HST]
what caused the earthshake?
Amber Nakamoto
Mililani

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:41 pm HST]
Your site says that the Mauna Kea Hotel and the Haupna Prince Hotel were evacuated and will be closed because of damage. I don't see any other confirmation of this. Are these two hotels operational or are they closed?
Melanie
Sacramento

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:39 pm HST]
What was the cause of the earthquake? What kins of impacts were effected?
Lyn
Kapolei

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:26 pm HST]
are schools open tomorrow?
Imogene
manoa

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 7:17 pm HST]
What is the impact on Maui? We have a trip in 10 days and would like to know if there is damage.
Diane
Parker, CO

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 6:36 pm HST]
I still don't understand why the quake, which wasn't extremely violent on Oahu caused the power outage. I think it has to do more with HECO's inadequate systems than the occurrence. The Big Island had power soon after the quake and they sustained much more physical damage being closer to the epicenter...does that mean that they have a better system? Isn't the purpose of having multiple stations on Oahu to counteract the failure of other power stations? I hope HECO will take full responsibility for this rather than blame it on the quake because other counties were able to cope fine.
Nate
Kaimuki

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 6:33 pm HST]
Was the Civil Defense Center even ready for a Earthquake?? 1st the bad traffic and now the Traffic?? are they even prepared for whatever happense next?
Matthew T
Waianae

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 5:59 pm HST]
Peggy, The power failed when earthquakes knocked out generators at Hawaiian Electric Co.'s downtown and Kahe power plants. The imbalance caused by the downed generators prompted HECO's computer system to shut down the company's power system to avoid permanent damage and cause a more prolonged power failure. About 63,000 residents on O'ahu had their electrical power restored this afternoon after HECO began restarting its Waiau power plant. Residents in Pearl City, 'Aiea, Waikele, Waipahu, Mililani Mauka, Honolulu Airport area, Makalapa, Kunia and parts of Wai'anae and Nanakuli had power restored. But most of the 291,000 households served by HECO won't see their power restored until later this evening.
The Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 5:49 pm HST]
Buck, Gov. Linda Lingle took a helicopter tour of the Big Island with the Hawai'i Air National Guard and reported rocks and earth falling into Kealakekua Bay near the Capt. Cook monument, the evacuation of Kona Community Hospital and boulders that fell on Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. There were also reports that a bridge on the highway from Hilo to Waimea had been cracked.
The Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 5:42 pm HST]
Could an earth quake on the big Island raise the possibility of increased volcanic activity on that Island?
Barry Walker
Grass Valley California

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 5:28 pm HST]
I was curious if historic sites like the Pu'ukohola Heiau and the like were damaged?
Buck
California

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 5:17 pm HST]
My wife is scheduled to fly back to Honolulu tomorrow from the Mainland. Are there any problems with the airport? Will she be able to get home to the University area?
Keith
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 4:57 pm HST]
Our children live on Oahu. They would like to know why the electicity is not on?
Peggy
Pennsylvania

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 4:53 pm HST]
Why didn't the emergency (siren) alarms go off? Are they powered by electricity? If there is another earthquake , is that a higher chance for a Tsunami?
angela morgan
kailua kona, HI

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 4:29 pm HST]
What are the chances of the power going out again tomorrow morning?
J
Waikele

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 4:18 pm HST]
This is the latest information at this hour: Ten Big Island public schools will be closed tomorrow, the Department of Education announced this afternoon. The schools are: Paauilo Elementary and Intermediate, Honoka\'a Elementary, Honoka\'a High and Intermediate, Kohala Elementary, Kohala Middle, Kohala High, Waimea Elementary, Waikoloa Elementary, Kealakehe Elementary, and Honaunau Elementary. DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said the state had not heard from any of the charter schools and did not know whether any would be open or closed tomorrow. All public schools on all other islands will be open as usual, Knudsen said.
Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 4:04 pm HST]
Will there be school tomorrow?
melissa reyes
mililani

[Posted on October 15, 2006 at 3:59 pm HST]
What has been the damage in the Waikoloa Beach area, i.e. the Hilton, Marriott, Bay Club, Fairway Villas etc? Thank you
Sue Nelson
California