Mokuola

Mokuola, in Hawaiian culture, is a place of healing.  A rock just off its shore is believed to have healing powers, and people who were sick have come to Mokuola to swim around the rock in the hopes of healing their ailments.  (Miller)

People came here for spring water believed to have healing qualities; umbilical cords of infants were hidden here under a flat stone known as Papa-a-Hina (stratum of Hina) to protect them from rats.  (Pukui)

A sea pool to the right of the landing on the island was called Puaʻa-kāheka.  Just outside of Mokuola is a small islet called Kaulaʻi-nā-iwi, literally ‘dry the bones’ (bones of chiefs were dried here.)  (Hawaii County)

Occasional reference is made to Mokuola (also now called Coconut Island) as the place of refuge of the Hilo district, hence its name, life island. Careful enquiry shows that the area of this puʻuhonua included also a portion of the mainland adjoining. The heiau connected with it, named Makaoku.  (Thrum)

Makaoku is an ʻili in Waiākea.  In 1909, the Territory set aside 3.5-acres in the ʻili of Makaoku, Waiākea as the Kauikeaouli Park.  Today, the Liliʻuokalani Gardens (the Japanese Gardens) and associated land has a land area of about 30-acres and includes this former park named for the earlier king.

Mokuola was repeatedly struck when tsunami entered Hilo Bay.

“We have had a great disaster at Hilo … at 5 o’clock it swept in, in a mighty wave, washing up and into nearly all the stores … But at Waiākea the damage was frightful. … There has been nothing like this tidal wave since the year 1837 … when many grass houses were destroyed.”  (Severance, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 26, 1877)

“The water was 3 inches deep in Conway's store, when the 5 o'clock wave came In. The wave at Waiakea must have had a perpendicular height of 16 feet, to have taken the bridge and wharf where they now lie. The water swept completely over Cocoanut Inland, and the hospital there has disappeared.”  (Severance, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 26, 1877)

A tsunami struck again. “Cocoanut Island was pretty well wrecked. The wave swept it completely.  The old house formerly used by the keeper of the island, was turned completely around and swept seaward for a distance of about 20 feet and then laid flat on the ground.  A tall cocoanut tree, directly in its path was snapped off at the ground. The bathhouses were also torn down and moved some 12 feet nearer the landing place.”  (Hawai‘i Herald, February 8, 1923; Miller)

There is a coconut palm on the Island with small bands that indicate the maximum wave height of tsunami that washed over the island (8-feet, 1957; 12-feet, 1952; 15-feet, 1960; and 26-feet, 1946.)

The Spanish-American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence.  Back then, Spain had interests in the Pacific, particularly in the Guam and Philippines.  Although the main issue was Cuban independence, the ten-week war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific.

In the Islands, there was no assigned garrison here until August 15, 1898, when the 1st New York Volunteer Infantry regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 2nd US Volunteer Engineers landed in Honolulu for garrison duty.  They setup camp (‘Camp McKinley’) at Kapiʻolani Park.

Later (November 8, 1898,) approximately 200-soldiers of the 1st New York sailed from Honolulu to Hilo to inspect sites for a possible permanent military post – a highlight of their visit was a hike to the Kilauea volcano. The soldiers camped in the new wharf (just down the coast from Mokuola.)  (Greguras)

In 1900, the Hilo Swimming Club petitioned the government to designate Mokuola as a recreation area. Swimming facilities including a bathhouse and diving boards were built.

In 1910, a 30-foot-high wooden diving tower was built with platforms at 5-foot, 14-foot, and 30-foot levels. After it was destroyed in the tsunami of 1923, a stone tower was built with two levels, steps, springboards, and railings.

At the beginning of World War II, the military took control of Coconut Island, and the Navy used this tower to train troops in amphibious warfare.  (Valentine)

This was not the only military use on the Island.  In 1942, Mokuola USO was established, and recreational and training facilities were constructed there for American soldiers.  The facilities were officially opened to soldiers in 1943.  (Miller)

During the war, the island was restricted to military personnel. On two days per week, however, lady friends of servicemen were allowed to visit the USO, which was accessed by a pontoon bridge, the first bridge to the island. During the occupation, a new pavilion, showers and restrooms were built. The military gave the island back to the county in 1945. (Valentine)

When the island was finally turned over to the county in 1945, the pontoon bridge was put off-limits due to it being a “hazard to children and too costly to maintain.”

Boat service between the island and the shore resumed until April 1, 1946 when a devastating tsunami once again destroyed all of the structures on Mokuola except for a concrete diving tower that is believed to have been constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers for training purposes.  (Miller)

The 1960 tsunami washed completely over the island, destroying all buildings and the new bridge there. For three years, Mokuola was abandoned.

Funds were eventually allocated for a major restoration project of the island, including a new metal and concrete bridge, and new concrete walls to slow erosion.

By 1969 the bridge was completed and the park was re-opened to the public.  (Miller)  It remains a public park.

The image shows Mokuola. (DMY)   In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2015 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Largest Earthquake in Hawaiʻi

Magnitude 7.9, Kaʻū, Island of Hawaiʻi, April 2, 1868

On March 27, 1868, whaling ships at Kawaihae on the west coast of Hawaiʻi observed dense clouds of smoke rising from Mauna Loa’s crater, Mokuʻāweoweo, to a height of several miles and reflecting the bright light from the lava pit.

Slight shocks were felt at Kona on the west coast and Kaʻū on the flanks of the volcano.

On the 28th, lava broke out on the southwest flank and created a 15-mile flow to the sea. Over 300 strong shocks were felt at Kaʻū and 50 to 60 were felt at Kona.

At Kilauea, the surface of the ground quivered for days with frequent vigorous shocks that caused lamps, crockery and chairs to spin around as if animated.

One shock resembled that of a cannon projectile striking the ground under the proprietor's bed, causing him to flee, according to the narrative published by C. H. Hitchcock in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America in 1912.

Between March 28, 1868 and April 11, over 2,000 distinct shocks were felt at Kona.

The main shocks struck on April 2, at 4:00 p.m., and again on April 4 at 12:30 a.m., the epicenter was located near Waiohinu.

“Thursday, April 2d, at a few minutes past four, p.m., the big earthquake occurred, which caused the ground around Kilauea to rock like a ship at sea. At that moment, there commenced fearful detonations in the crater, large quantities of lava were thrown up to a great height; portions of the wall tumbled in. This extraordinary commotion, accompanied with unearthly noise and ceaseless swaying of the ground continued from that day till Sunday night, April 5th”. (Hawaiian Gazette, May 6, 1868)

A magnitude of 7 ¾ was estimated for this earthquake (by Augustine Furumoto in his February 1966 article on the Seismicity of Hawaii in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America) based on the extent of intensity reports.  (Instrumental recordings, the usual basis for computing magnitudes, were not available at this early date.)

The shock was felt throughout the islands, as far as Niʻihau about 350 miles away.

The ground rolled like a ship at sea and many walls tumbled down.

A landslide three miles long and thirty feet thick swept down the hill carrying trees, animals, and men.  Thirty-one people and thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and goats were killed in the one slide.

A tsunami struck the coast from Hilo to South Cape, being most destructive at Keauhou, Puna and Honuʻapo; 180 houses were washed away and 62 lives were lost to the wave alone.

A 10-foot-high wave carried wreckage inland 800-feet. Not a house survived at Honuʻapo. A stone church and other buildings were destroyed at Punaluʻu.

Maximum wave heights were 65 feet, the highest observed on Hawaiʻi to date.

At Keauhou (now Keauhou Landing) the water rose 35-50-feet destroying all the houses and warehouses and drowning 46 people. At Hilo, the height of the wave was about 10-feet, and at Kealakekua, 6-feet. The tsunami also was observed on Maui and Oʻahu. Also felt on Lānaʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi.

“The tidal wave was much greater than before stated. It rolled in over the tops of the cocoanut trees, probably sixty feet high, and drove the floating rubbish, timber, etc., inland a distance of a quarter of a mile in some places, taking out to sea when it returned, houses, men, women, and almost everything movable. The villages Punaluu, Ninole, Kawaa and Honuapo were utterly annihilated.”  (American Journal of Science, 1868)

This major earthquake caused 77 deaths (tsunami, 46; landslide, 31).

It knocked almost all wooden houses off their foundations in the Keiawa, Punaluʻu and Nīnole areas. In those areas, straw houses supported by posts in the ground reportedly were “torn to shreds.”

At Kaʻū, the more substantial houses and every stone wall were thrown down.

At Waiʻōhinu, a large stone church collapsed within 10 seconds of the onset of shaking. The shock "ruined" the few stone buildings in Hilo and shook down almost every wall. Brooks became muddy.

At Kealakekua, strong trees were bent backward and forward "like reeds in a storm." Ground waves as much as 2-feet from ground to crest were observed at Kohala.

The motion was so violent at ʻUlupalakua that it was difficult for people to stand. Reports from Keaiwa and Kiolakaʻa suggest that vertical accelerations larger than 1g may have occurred (which means that the force of the earth pushing up on something is stronger than the force of gravity keeping it on the ground.)

Extensive surface effects were observed in the epicentral region. Ground fissures extended from Pahala to Kilauea. At Kahuku, a fissure about 5 kilometers long was reported. A volcanic eruption took place from that fissure a few days later, on April 7.

Along the Puna coast, the land subsided in places as much as 6-feet. At Kaimū, trees stood about 8-feet deep in sand and water. The plain at Kalapana sank about 6-feet, and water stood as much as 5-feet deep over 20 acres of formerly dry land.

Much of the information here is from USGS, with some noted from the diary and letters of Mrs. Sarah J. Lyman, wife of missionary David Layman in Hilo.

The image shows the map of the islands and the general location of Hawaiʻi’s largest earthquake.

© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Tsunami in Hawai‘i

Today - March 11 - is the first anniversary of the Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

               

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves generated by sudden displacements in the sea floor, landslides or volcanic activity.  In the deep ocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few inches high.  The tsunami wave may come gently ashore or may increase in height to become a fast moving wall of turbulent water several meters high.

In Hawaii, tsunamis have accounted for more lost lives than the total of all other local disasters.  In the 20th century, an estimated 221 people have been killed by tsunamis.  Most of these deaths occurred on the Big Island during the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960, two of the largest tsunamis to strike in the Pacific.

Here is a brief summary of some recent tsunami and their impacts in Hawai‘i:

1946

The tsunami of 1946 was generated by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands.  This tsunami struck the Big Island of Hawaii on April 1st.  The tsunami flooded the downtown area of Hilo killing 159 people and causing more than $26-million in damages.

1952

On November 4, 1952 a tsunami was generated by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the USSR.  In Hawaii, property damage from these waves was estimated at $800,000-$1,000,000 (1952 dollars); no lives were lost.  The waves beached boats, caused houses to collide, destroyed piers, scoured beaches and moved road pavement.

1957

On March 9, 1957 a tsunami was generated by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands.  It generated a 24-foot tsunami that did great damage on Adak Island, especially to the fuel and oil docks.  The Hawaiian Islands incurred about $5,000,000 of damage in 1957 dollars.  The highest wave in Hawaii was 12-feet.

1960

The tsunami of May 23, 1960 was generated by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake in Chile.  The 35-foot tsunami struck Hilo, Hawaii causing severe damage.  61-deaths were recorded and $23-million in damage occurred.  In the area of maximum destruction, only buildings of reinforced concrete or structural steel and a few others sheltered by these buildings, remained standing - and even these were generally gutted.  Frame buildings were either crushed or floated nearly to the limits of the flooding.

1975

On November 29, 1975, an earthquake occurred off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.  When the quake-generated tsunami struck, 32 campers were at Halape Beach Park.  The sound of falling rocks from a nearby cliff, along with earth movement caused the campers to flee toward the ocean.  They were then forced back to the cliff by rising ocean waters.  The first wave was 5-feet high, but the second wave was 26-feet high and carried the unfortunate campers into a ditch near the base of the cliff, where they remained until the ordeal ended.  Two campers died and 19 suffered injuries.

2011

An earthquake measured at 9.0 magnitude, the sixth biggest since 1900, struck Japan on March 11, 2011.  The first tsunami waves reached Kaua‘i shortly after 3 a.m. and took about 30 minutes to sweep through the island chain.  Waves above 6-feet were recorded at Kahului on Maui and 3-feet at Haleiwa on the north shore of Oahu.  Lost homes, sunken boats, Kona Village Resort damage, and damaged piers and roads caused tsunami damage into the tens of millions of dollars; no one was killed or injured during the tsunami.

I have added some photos of tsunami impacts in Hawai‘i for several of the prior events (1946 - 2011) to a folder of like name in my Facebook Photos section.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-T-Young/1332665638