Hawaii inconvenienced but emerges virtually unscathed from October 15th earthquake. One day after being rocked by an earthquake Hawai‘i is letting the world know that it is open and ready for business.
"We continue to welcome visitors to our state," said Marsha Wienert, tourism liaison for the Hawaii State Governor's office. "The quake caused quite a bit of apprehension yesterday but this morning Hawai‘i is largely back to business as usual. There is no widespread damage and no loss of life or serious injury. We have made a speedy return to normalcy."
The 7:07 a.m. Sunday morning quake measured 6.7-magnitude. It was centered under the ocean off the northwest coast of Hawai‘i's Big Island and was felt on all the major islands. A 5.8 magnitude quake followed seven minutes later and numerous smaller aftershocks were registered over the next few hours.
The first quake immediately triggered power failures that lasted most of the day on the Big Island, Maui, and O‘ahu.
The loss of electrical power caused disruptions at airports that resulted in flight delays and cancellations of some transpacific flights into and out of the Islands. Electrical power was restored to most airports by early afternoon. Honolulu International Airport, which saw the most delays in service, was online again by
5:45 p.m. All affected communities throughout the islands had electrical service restored by midnight Sunday.
"All visitor accommodations are open for business statewide and airlines are telling us that transpacific flights and flights around the islands are generally back to normal," said John Monahan, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau. "There may be some minor delays as airlines adjust for yesterday's interruptions and we advise passengers to reconfirm their departure times prior to going to the airport," he said.
"Despite the inconveniences caused by the power outage, visitors to the state were generally in high spirits yesterday as residents and visitor industry employees jumped in to make their day as good as possible," said Monahan. "Hawai‘i's spirit of aloha shines especially bright in these circumstances," he said.
Damage assessments were still being made Monday morning, but the effects of the quake continue to appear minimal.All major highways statewide are open.Hotels and other accommodations that were closest to the quake on the Big Island remain open for business, although some have reported light damage.
The quake generated a small seismic wave of three inches in height at Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on O‘ahu.
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