Thousands evacuate

Thousands of residents in low-lying coastal areas evacuated to higher ground on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota after the Emergency Management Office issued a tsunami warning for the CNMI late Wednesday night in the wake of an 8.1 magnitude earthquake in Japan.

An Associated Press report said that small tsunamis, some measuring several feet high, crashed into Hawaii shores, slightly injuring one swimmer and temporarily flooding a harbor. The report said the waves hit about six hours after the earthquake struck north of Japan, triggering tsunami warnings as far away as Alaska.

The evacuation on three CNMI islands went smoothly as planned and no major traffic accident was reported, according to Department of Public Safety acting police director Pete A. Leon Guerrero.

Leon Guerrero said they received the “all clear” notice from EMO at 1:21am. On Saipan, it took police two hours to clear the traffic jam.

Residents in low-lying areas started trooping to higher ground in As Matuis, Capital Hill, Navy Hill, Gualo Rai, As Terlaje, As Lito, and Koberville at 11:30pm. At least six 24-hour gasoline stations on the island had long lines of motorists.

It was exactly six years ago on Nov. 16, 2000, when EMO issued two tsunami alerts due to a powerful earthquake that shook the Pacific Ocean, based on Saipan Tribune archives. A similar emergency alert was also issued in 1995.

In its tsunami watch issued Wednesday at 11pm, EMO reported that the estimated initial tsunami wave arrival to the NMI was Thursday 1:31am.

An earthquake with an 8.1 magnitude occurred near Kuril Islands, Japan Wednesday at 9:14pm (local time).

EMO informed the public that an earthquake of such size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours.

In its second tsunami warning bulletin, the agency explained that such warning indicates that a tsunami may be imminent and that coastal locations in the warned area should prepare for potential evacuation of low-lying areas and potential flooding.

In its third bulletin issued at 12am, EMO listed evacuation routes on Saipan. It also advised residents evacuating to higher grounds not to park along major access road to avoid potential traffic jams.

Leon Guerrero said they were informed by EMO about the tsunami watch at 11:19pm.

“According to EMO, if we should get hit with the tsunami it should hit us at 1:31am. And they told us that at 11:59pm. So now we got an hour and 30 minutes to get all these people to higher ground,” he said.

Leon Guerrero said they immediately called all officers on the streets plus additional officers to assist in the evacuation. After a short meeting with about 50 officers at DPS central, the officers were dispatched to each of the villages in low-lying areas in order to pass the word about the tsunami watch. Police officers also monitored traffic intersections to prevent bottlenecks in the flow of vehicles.

“We sent people out. We’re hitting from the most southern end of the island to the most northern end and on the front end,” he said.

Leon Guerrero said officers were also sent to commercial centers and tourist districts and advised the establishments and hotels that they need to move to higher ground.

“When we hit the village of Chalan Kanoa, for example, we told them they need to move to higher ground because of the tsunami warning and they passed the word to take the most southern end route, which is Beach Road up to Koblerville, so that not everybody is going to Capital Hill or whatever,” he said.

Leon Guerrero said hotels have their own evacuation plans for guests.

“They got their own buses. The hotels are pretty good because they got their own evacuation plans. It was organized,” he said.

He said officers continued driving around the coastal areas and at 1:20am they also moved to higher ground.

Leon Guerrero said they have to stay in the village to watch the houses for burglars.

The acting police director said that, besides prior preparation and coordination by DPS, EMO, and the National Homeland Security, the evacuation plan was easily executed because the warning happened at night.

It would have been harder if it occurred at daytime or during normal working hours because children are at schools.

In Honolulu, a woman swimming at Waikiki suffered cuts when she was sucked through an opening in a seawall as the water receded just before the swells arrived. She was otherwise fine, said John Cummings, a spokesman for Oahu Civil Defense.

On Kauai, a 2.5-foot (0.75-meter) swell flooded a parking lot at Nawiliwili Harbor. It was one of a series of waves that struck between 7:30 a.m. through 9 a.m. HST, said Mark Marshall, Kauai County civil defense administrator.

Marshall said Hawaii was lucky because it had six hours to prepare for the tsunami. [I][B](With the Associated Press)