The United States faced a tsunami scare in late July after one of the strongest earthquakes on record struck off Russia’s coast, prompting warnings across Hawaii and coastal areas. Public agencies took immediate action to alert the public, but evacuation efforts in Hawaii were challenged by traffic gridlock and confusion, raising concerns over whether current systems can handle a large-scale disaster and prompting discussion on how to reinforce preparation at the street level.
Hawaii’s governor issued a red flag warning, and in a July 30 statement, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi urged Hawaii and coastal U.S. residents to take tsunami evacuation warnings seriously.
“When an alert is issued, take action immediately — there is no room for hesitation or complacency,” Blangiardi said.
Evacuation bottlenecks
Despite the rapid warnings, Oahu residents described hours-long delays leaving tsunami risk zones.
Evacuees reported traffic backed up as far as Saddle Road in Hilo, approximately 25 miles from the bay’s major impact area. Those who used the road said they were trying to avoid more congested routes.
One Oahu resident told Straight Arrow News that her evacuation process took almost four hours.
Deanna Lovenna Woods, a Red Cross crisis volunteer, was called out on duty to help during the evacuations. By the time she returned home, gathered her family and battled traffic to a shelter, she was already too late. The shelter was full.
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“I have a pet and special needs children, and the shelter didn’t allow my pet and was full,” she told SAN.
And that traffic?
“Two and a half hours of traffic for what usually takes 15 minutes.”
The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, a natural disaster warning agency that develops local tsunami warning maps, did not respond to SAN’s request for comment on evacuation complaints.
Evacuations from disaster areas are increasing in the United States. Hurricanes can also cause tsunami-like waves. Inside Hurricane Erin’s evacuation zone last month, local agencies reported they expected “waves 20 feet high.”
How tsunami alerts work
Disaster alerts and emergency response are handled by different agencies. Widespread tsunami alerts are issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its partners, while on-scene evacuation management falls to local fire departments and police agencies.
“Tsunami messages are issued by NOAA’s Tsunami Warning Centers to notify emergency managers and other local officials, the public and other partners about the potential for a tsunami following a possible tsunami-generating event,” NOAA spokesperson Marissa Anderson told SAN.
Anderson said tsunami threats for the United States, Canada and the British Virgin Islands include alert messages. The highest level of alert is a tsunami warning, which means to take shelter as there is immediate danger. NOAA warning system statements are categorized at three levels: advisory, watch and information statement. When tsunamis are expected in an area, NOAA also provides predicted wave arrival times.
Americans can receive tsunami alerts through NOAA’s partners or opt in to Wireless Emergency Alerts. This may require switching device settings to coordinate with public alert statements. The Washington State Emergency Management Division advises smartphone users to search for “public safety messages” in their settings and toggle them on.
Debate over readiness
Many Hilo residents expressed frustration with local officials after evacuation efforts led to severe traffic gridlock. Some worry about becoming trapped during a future major disaster.
Tensions have grown as the community also marked the second anniversary of the Lahaina fire, which also drew public controversy over how it was handled. Residents point to the fire as a reason to question whether disaster relief systems in the Pacific region are adequately prepared for another large-scale event.
Fire departments, strained by the cost of the Lahaina fire, have a key role in evacuation procedures. In Hilo, the fire department also assists with water evacuations, helping the Coast Guard and other partner agencies.
Disasters, by nature, are often sudden. However, proactive planning can go a long way in ensuring people’s safety, Justin Dawe, CEO of Earth Force Technologies, told SAN.
“The most important lesson is that we’ve been treating all of this like one-time projects,” said Dawe, whose background is in wildfire landscape conservation. “But it’s more like providing drinking water — something that requires ongoing care, like a utility district. It’s a forever job. What we need is a mindset shift across the whole sector.”
Urban development planners, such as the researchers from the Center for Secure Water, say “smart city modeling” could help address traffic flow issues that hinder evacuations. This strategy utilizes a data-driven digital representation of a city, which aids in planning the complex systems required for cities to function.
Smart city efforts include traffic modeling using a digital twin of a city’s transportation system to anticipate traffic patterns. The Center for Secure Water explains that using data collected in real-time, with tools like AI, can help plan for “dynamic disruptions” that can happen during disasters, such as gridlocked traffic.
Disaster management analysts say updated disaster relief must go beyond technology to better integrate agencies. Analysts with the United Nations Development Programme are studying ways to synchronize emergency preparedness across sectors, noting that disaster impact is not confined to beaches, land or forests. The agency calls designing with disaster-readiness “risk-informed development.”
While much of this work revolves around models and theories at the moment, improvements to the system could have real-world benefits for people like Big Island resident Justin Virgo, who attempted to evacuate from Reeds Bay Beach Park with his wife and his 3-month-old son the day the tsunami siren sounded.
“We decided to leave, and when we got to the street light there was bumper-to-bumper traffic. The lights were being ignored in favor of a police officer trying to direct traffic,” Virgo told SAN.
He wondered about those logistics: Could using the street lights have moved traffic along faster?
Virgo and his family were safe. No waves hit the evacuation area, but what if they had? He worried what could have happened had a wave swept in while his family was stuck in traffic.
