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The
Effects of the March 27, 1964 Alaska Tsunami In the Hawaiian
Islands
George
Pararas-Carayannis
The Great Alaskan Earthquake
of 28 March 1964 generated a great tsunami which caused extensive
damage in Alaska, along Vancouver
Island and in Northern
California, but caused relatively small damage in the Hawaiian
Islands
 Tsunami Runup Heights and Tide Gauge
Measurements
At Midway Island the
tide gauge registered only a 0.1 m change in sea level. On the
island of Oahu maximum run up was up to 4.8 meters but the Honolulu
tide gauge only measured 0.5 meter change in sea level. At Kahului,
Maui, maximum run up was up to 3.7 meters and the Kahului tide
gauge recorded 3.7 meters. On the island of Hawaii maximum run
up was up to 3 meters and the tide gauge at Hilo recorded 2.1
meter change in sea level.
 Tsunami Travel Times
Tsunami travel times
to the Hawaiian Islands (first wave) were as follows: Midway
4.9 hours; Honolulu 5.3 hours; Kahului 5.2 hours; Hilo 5.4 hours.
Tsunami Periods
Tsunami periods as
measured from tide gauge records were as follows: Midway 15 minutes;
Honolulu 21 minutes, Kahului 23 minutes; Hilo 19 minutes.
Extent of Damage
There was
no loss of life in any of the Hawaiian islands. At Kahului, Maui,
damage was estimated at $53,000 (1964 dollars). At Hilo, Hawaii,
damage was estimated at $15,000 (1964 dollars)
REFERENCES
COX, D.C. and Pararas-Carayannis,
G. 1969 ..A Catalog of Tsunamis in Alaska. World Data Center A- Tsunami
Report, No. 2,
IIDA, K., D.C. Cox,
and Pararas--Carayannis, George, 1967.
Preliminary Catalog
of Tsunamis Occurring in the Pacific Ocean. Data Report No. 5. Honolulu: Hawaii Inst.Geophys.Aug.
1967.
PARARAS-CARAYANNIS,
G.1972. "Source
Mechanism of the Water Waves Produced." Reprinted from Pacific Science, Vol. 21, No.
3, "A Study
of the Source Mechanism of the Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami
of March 27, 1964."
Volume on Seismology and Geodesy on the Great Alaska Earthquake
of 1964, National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C., pp 249-258,
1972.
SPAETH, M.G. and S.C.
Berkman, 1965, 1967. The Tsunami of March 38, 1964
as Recorded at Tide Stations,
U.S. Coast and Geod. Survey, 59 pp. (1965). Ibid. ESSA Coast
and Geod. Survey Tech. Bull. 33, 85 pp. (1967)
See also:
The
March 27, 1964, Great Alaska Earthquake
Source
Mechanism of the March 27, 1964, Great Alaska Earthquake and
Tsunami
The
March 27, 1964 Tsunami Waves in Prince William Sound, Alaska
The
Effects of the March 27, 1964 Alaska Tsunami in Canada
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