Question: What does/will the Honolulu Zoo do when a tsunami alert has been sounded?

Answer: The zoo’s daytime tsunami-response plan includes clearing the 42-acre site in Kapiolani Park of visitors; locking dangerous animals in their sleeping quarters or barns; catching and caging certain animals, if possible, for transport to higher ground; securing all firearms, ammunition and Schedule II drugs; and ensuring that zoo staff reach their designated safe zone at Kapiolani Community College, according to a list of procedures provided by Tracy Kubota, deputy director of the city’s Department of Enterprise Services, which oversees the zoo.

“Tsunamis are a potential threat to the Honolulu Zoo due to our close proximity to the Waikiki seashore. These high-energy waves are generated by underwater earthquakes. They have the potential to cause extensive property damage and to be killers. Any tsunami alert must be taken seriously,” Kubota said. “Due to its origin, there is usually advance notice to monitor a tsunami’s progress. The zoo, therefore, will likely have time to prepare for such an event. Civil Defense will issue public bulletins and guide our actions.”

The reaction time depends on how far away the earthquake, volcanic eruption, submarine landslide or other instigating event occurred. In some cases communities have hours to prepare for a tsunami; in others, only minutes.

While the zoo faces additional logistical challenges given the nature of its operation and because it sits in a tsunami inundation zone, its plan is, at its core, an example of what every Hawaii household, school, church, business or other enterprise should have: a guide for how to react to a tsunami, suited to the risks and priorities of the particular institution.

Your question is a timely one, too, given that April is Tsunami Awareness Month, a time when the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency encourages the public to learn about and prepare for such a natural disaster. You can find out more at www.scd.hawaii.gov, which includes a link to a searchable map of Hawaii’s evacuation zones. Similar information is listed in the Disaster Preparedness Guide of the local phone book.

HERE is a summary of the zoo’s tsunami preparation procedures.

>> ”When Civil Defense issues an official tsunami alert for Hawaii, the zoo will start preparations to protect its animals.”

>> “Clear all visitors from the zoo and inform them of the Civil Defense tsunami alert.”

>> Remove all dangerous animals from public exhibit and lock them into sleeping quarters or barns. This includes elephants, hippos, rhinos, felines, primates, other carnivores, giraffes and ostriches. “Make them comfortable and feed, if time permits.”

>> Move equipment and vehicles to designated areas.

>> During a daytime alert, certain animals will be captured (if they can be caught), placed into secure carriers “in order of genetic value” and loaded into a horse trailer, which will be locked and hauled to Kapiolani Community College, which is the zoo’s designated safe zone.

>> Remove designated computer processing units and other records from offices and place in designated vehicle. Place radios and equipment used to capture or tranquilize animals in designated vehicle. Place all firearms, ammunition and Schedule II drugs into designated vehicle. Place all 5-gallon water jugs into one designated vehicle, and all gasoline and a generator in another.

>> Place all stored water and feed as high as possible in feed barns.

>> ”Upon notification, zoo employees will vacate the zoo and seek higher ground.” Designated senior staff stay at the Queen Kapiolani hotel next door to monitor the situation. Other staff return only after Civil Defense issues the “all clear.”

>> The primary route to higher ground is Monsarrat Avenue to Diamond Head Road. Zoo staff are to assemble at KCC and wait for instructions.

>> If a tsunami hits Waikiki, designated zoo employees will return to the zoo as directed to appraise damage and take necessary security measures.

>> If a tsunami alert is issued at night (when the zoo is closed), designated senior staff will summon personnel to help secure the facility as necessary.

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