The Oil Drum

Dad noticed the earthquake.  Everything swayed, and tons of leaves flew off the big lichee tree in the front yard.  But he's a little hard of hearing, and apparently didn't hear things crashing in the house.  He didn't even go inside to check it out.

The power went out when the quake hit, so Mom came home from the gym.  (Guess you can't exercise without electricity.  ;-)  She pulled into the garage and saw everything on the garage shelves had fallen off.  

Then she went inside, and found total chaos.  In the kitchen, all the food had fallen out of the fridge and cabinets.  Dishes and jars were smashed.  Pictures had fallen off the wall.  There was cracking along the base of the house walls.  The closet doors had fallen out.    

Of course, the biggest problem, from Dad's POV, was that with no power, there was no football.  However, the electricity did come back on in time for the Sunday night game (an afternoon game Hawai`i time).  

O`ahu, where most of the population of Hawai`i lives, was without power a lot longer.  Apparently, the problem was software that shuts down the entire grid when there's a shortfall.  Though only two generators (out of 11) actually went offline due to the quake, all of them were automatically shut down.

Because Hawai`i gets its water from artesian wells, without power, there's no water, either.  Tourists were in a bit of a panic, rushing to convenience stores to buy bottled water.  Many of the locals stood in line for hours to buy food and drink from lunch wagons. Home Depot was one of the few stores that stayed open; guess they just fired up some of their generators.  They sold out of batteries right away, but reportedly still have propane and charcoal.  

Airplanes were allowed to land in Hawai`i, but could not take off.  Without power, the security machines couldn't run, so no one was allowed to board outgoing planes.

Some buildings partially collapsed, including the hospital where my sister worked part-time when we were in high school.  A structures engineer said the shaking had turned some concrete into powder; he described it as a "mini 9/11."  

Highways are closed due to rockslides, and as many as 170 bridges on the Big Island may be damaged.  Engineers are being flown in from the mainland to inspect them.  Hotels have been asked to keep tourists as close to the hotel as possible, since the roadway infrastructure may not be safe.

Only a few gas stations were open; they attracted long lines.  Many limited purchases to $20, and/or accepted cash only.  

Some grocery stores opened for emergency purchases.  People were escorted in one at a time, guided by an employee with a flashlight.  Hundreds lined up outside.

No lights in Honolulu last night, except from cars