State and city lawmakers plan to meet today to assess the coordinated response to last month’s tsunami warning and coastal evacuation.
"We’re not targeting anything or anyone in particular, just getting an update," said Sen. Will Espero, one of three lawmakers who organized the joint city-state informational briefing.
"I think the biggest issue will be what we can do to get a better reading from the buoys and the sensors out in the ocean," Espero added. "At the end of the day, it’s always good to err on the side of caution. However, everybody suddenly going on the freeway and the traffic and all the congestion that was a mess — was it necessary?"
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"I think the biggest issue will be what we can do to get a better reading from the buoys and the sensors."
Will Espero
Senator, on assessing the coordinated response to last month’s tsunami warning
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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning at about 7 p.m. Oct. 27, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Canada near British Columbia about two hours earlier.
Emergency responders scrambled to evacuate coastal areas as residents rushed to stores to stock up on necessities.
The first waves were recorded at 1.6 feet high near Makapuu at about 10:30 p.m. Kahului Harbor recorded a similar-size wave about 20 minutes later. Measurements continued until Pacific Tsunami Warning Center officials downgraded the warning to an advisory at about 1 a.m. and lifted the advisory just before 4 a.m.
Officials, including Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, said the response went as well as could have been expected given the short warning time.
Espero said he agreed with the decision to err on the side of caution, "but we need to now see how we can get much better readings and predictions, and what needs to be done at the state level and the federal level."
The informational briefing is being led by Espero, Rep. Henry Aquino and City Councilman Nestor Garcia, the public safety committee chairmen in their respective bodies.
The briefing also will include information from federal, state, county and private-sector agencies in regard to the ongoing response to Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, to determine "what lessons have been learned in our observations with respect to the impact," Garcia said at an announcement during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
The joint city-state informational briefing on "emergency preparedness, response, recovery and resiliency" is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in Room 309 at the state Capitol.
