1946: Deadly tsunami leads to establishment of warning center
On April 1, a tsunami hits the Hawaiian Islands. At Hilo on the Island of Hawai‘i, it kills more than 100 people and causes $25 million in damage. The tsunami is also particularly devastating to the small town of Hana, on Maui’s east coast, whose population is predominantly Native Hawaiian. This disaster leads to the founding of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at Ewa Beach in 1949.
- Theme
- Federal-Tribal Relations
- Region
- Hawai‘i
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Ewa Beach, Hawai‘i
Courtesy Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Destruction in the wake of the 1946 tsunami at Hilo: the army crash boat, which was at the wharf, washed up about 400 feet, over railroad tracks, and came to rest against the molasses tanks.
Courtesy Pacific Tsunami Museum, Lee Hatada Collection
Tsunami wave in Hawai’i, 1946
Courtesy Pacific Tsunami Museum, Aleta V. Smith Collection