Is the Hilo airport in Hawaii open or closed today because of the tsunami warning?”
Scientist Says Potential Tsunami Approaching Hawaii Faster Than Expected Saturday, February 27, 2010 * Print * ShareThis AP Feb. 27: Aaron Okura, an employee of a hotel in the Waikiki area of Honolulu, helps move lounge chairs from the swimming pool area of the hotel. Feb. 27: Aaron Okura, an employee of a hotel in the Waikiki area of Honolulu, helps move lounge chairs from the swimming pool area of the hotel. * * * A geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said Saturday that a potential tsunami, generated by a major earthquake in Chile, was approaching Hawaii a bit faster than originally predicted. Victor Sardina says data coming in from buoys and tide gauges across the Pacific indicated the tsunami should arrive in Hawaii at 11:05 a.m. (4:05 p.m. ET), instead of 11:19 a.m. The tsunami waves are expected to measure roughly 8 feet at Hilo, Hawaii. Hawaiian authorities sounded sirens Saturday morning to alert residents to evacuate coastal areas ahead of a potential
Hawaii’s Hilo International Airport has been closed, following the tsunami warning that has been issued for Hawaii, the result of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is forecasting waves of 9 feet in Hilo Bay. The waves are expeccted to reach Hilo around 11:05 a.m. local time. Ocean levels are not expected to rise as high elsewhere in the Hawaiian Islands. Other airports in the Islands remain open.
