Question: As a frequent Hawaii visitor, I have never been here during any kind of natural disaster. I am thankful for that but do want to be prepared. Regarding tsunamis, I know they say seek higher ground, but does that include high-rises?
Answer: Possibly, depending on the building’s construction.
“The building must be at least 10 stories of reinforced concrete and you must move to the fourth floor or higher for safety,” according to the “Tsunami Facts” pamphlet issued by the city and the International Tsunami Information Center.
Vertical evacuation may be the only option for people who can’t safely flee to higher ground outside the tsunami inundation zone, which is the preferred response. But it has to be the right kind of building — individual homes and small buildings are not designed to withstand tsunamis.
The ITIC has a section devoted to Hawaii, at tsunamihawaii.org, where you can find much more information, including specific recommendations for hotels and their guests.
Q: Tsunami reminders are good, but people shouldn’t wait for someone to tell them what to do.
A: Emergency management experts agree, and the city and other agencies act accordingly. For example, the new tsunami preparedness brochures issued in multiple languages (808ne.ws/tsusty) emphasize that people must recognize natural signs that a tsunami is approaching and flee to higher land immediately if they are in an evacuation zone.
A tsunami from a local earthquake could strike within minutes, the brochure says. Don’t wait for a siren if you feel the earth shake so much that you cannot stand; see ocean water recede, swirl or act strangely; or hear a roar from the ocean that sounds like a freight train or jet aircraft. Get to higher ground immediately.
Q: Thank you for explaining what the city does with the HI-5 containers we put in our blue bin (808ne.ws/kline327). It’s good to know that the city gets the deposits back, but is that counted in the program’s redemption rate?
A: Yes, HI-5 containers the city collects from the “mixed recyclables” carts (blue bins) on its disposal routes and redeems with the state Department of Health are counted in the deposit beverage container program’s redemption rate. On average, the city contributes roughly 2 percent of the overall redemption rate, said Janice Okubo, a spokeswoman for the Health Department, which administers the program.
We were surprised by the number of readers who told us they never reclaim the refundable nickel deposit they pay for each HI-5 beverage. Some toss the empties in the blue bin for pickup by the city, while others donate them to charities that pick them up and redeem them for cash that goes to a good cause.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the angels at TheBus. My son left his bike on the bus rack, and when I … showed up at the customer service office at the terminal, Rae kindly went in the back to locate the bicycle using the description I gave her. (I have now photographed the bicycle in case it happens again.) In order to take the recovered bicycle back to my son’s home, I had to load it on the bus and was having trouble because of my unfamiliarity with the rack. Matt, a bus worker who happened to be at the bus stop, loaded it on the bus for me. When I reached my destination and again had a problem unloading it, the driver, Carrie, kindly alighted from her bus and released the bicycle from its rack and presented it to me. Last but not least, I found out that a bus rider, Calvin, had first pointed out the abandoned bicycle to the bus driver. I thank all these wonderful angels in helping me get my son’s bicycle back to him safe and sound. — Sincerely, David
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
