In the 45 years that I have lived in Lahaina we have had dozens of tsunami warnings. Businesses have had to shut down and people have had to evacuate their homes and move to higher ground. Not once during all those warnings did we ever experience tidal-wave damage.
When you panic people dozens of times over a 45-year period of time and nothing happens, you lose credibility. Therein lies the real danger. The next tsunami may be devastating, and few people will heed the warning.
Given the advances in instrumentation and technology, I'm mystified at the lack of accuracy in predicting tidal-wave disasters. Perhaps it's time to evaluate the people and procedures involved in predicting tsunamis here in Hawaii.
Tom Hansen
Lahaina
