While surges moved buoys at Manele Small Boat Harbor on Lanai and washed debris into some yards on Molokai, Maui County was reporting no damage Monday from a tsunami Saturday night that generated 5-foot-high waves at Kahului Harbor.
"County departments report no damage," Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said Monday afternoon.
The tsunami was triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake off British Columbia, with a warning issued for Hawaii residents Saturday evening. Residents in flood inundation zones were evacuated before the warning was reduced to an advisory at about 1 a.m. Sunday, then canceled at 4 a.m.
Antone said the county would be checking on reports that emergency warning sirens didn't sound in the Paukukalo area and on Molokai Hema Street in Kahului. While there were other reports that sirens weren't working in general areas, Antone said the county would need specific locations to make checks on sirens.
At Manele Small Boat Harbor, Capt. Alan Steed of Expeditions ferry said two state-maintained buoys had been pushed out of position by the tsunami. One buoy, which is used for ingress and egress from the harbor, washed onto the beach. Another buoy, marking the end of the breakwater inside the harbor, had moved to the middle of the harbor, he said.
Steed said he noticed the buoys were out of place Sunday afternoon when he operated the ferry to Lanai from Maui.
"We operate in the harbor five times a day; it's not really an issue for us," he said.
But he said someone who doesn't know the harbor as well might have trouble navigating, particularly at night.
The movement of the buoys from Saturday's tsunami wasn't as significant as damage to the Manele dock from the March 2011 tsunami, Steed said.
On Sunday, "there was some water movement and some surge inside of the harbor at midday and afternoon, but nothing horrible," he said.
Antone said the information about the buoys was passed on to the state Departments of Land and Natural Resources and Transportation, as well as to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Antone said the county also received a report through a Facebook posting that waves pushed a picnic table onto the road and washed debris into yards of some residences in the Honouliwai area on Molokai.
Mayor Alan Arakawa commended the community, media and county employees for working together and responding quickly.
"We had less than three hours to prepare for this last tsunami threat, and we may have less time if another strikes again," he said. "So let us work together and be prepared."
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
