The "Great Hawaii Quake" 2006...

It hit the Big Island, but Oahu was without power in some areas for almost 24 hours (we were down for 18 hours). It was very minor on Oahu, but apparently pretty damaging on the Big Island, at least on the Kona side.

Quakes here are not tectonic, but volcanic in origin...Mauna Loa, one of the two active volcanoes on the Big Island, is several years past due for a big eruption, and between this quake set and a smaller one in August, and the "vog" (volcanic smog) we've had, I think Mauna Loa is about to blow.

At any rate, it was a pretty minor thing, all things considered. Other than the power outage on Oahu, it was pretty uneventful here. More an inconveinence, though for the folks on the Big Island it was pretty damaging. But no serious injuries and thankfully no deaths. And by this morning life on Oahu (other than the traffic lights on the way to work) was pretty much back to normal.

Of course contrary to what you might believe, the base was one of the last places to get power back. I got in today, and the boat was on temporary topside generators all night (we are in drydock, no diesel). The biggest problem they reported was McDonalds being closed (duty section couldn't do a "food run".

Technorati Tags: Hawaii, Earthquakes, Volcano

posted by Robert Schumacher @ 7:46 PM