3,000 evacuated amid Hawaii aftershocks

As many as 3,000 people in three hotels on the island of Hawaii were forced to evacuate following the 6.6 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks that struck the Hawaiian Islands beginning 7:07 a.m. local time on Sunday.

The temblor appeared to be centered about 10 miles north-northwest of Kaulua Kona on the west coast of the Big Island, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center. Mayor Harry Kim confirmed that up to 3,000 people were evacuated.

Brad Kurokawa, Hawaii County deputy planning director, affirmed the hotels were damaged, but could not say how many people had left. They were being taken to a gymnasium until alternate accommodations could be found, he said.

The earthquake ruptured water pipes at Aston Kona By The Sea, a condominium resort, creating a waterfall down the front of the hotel from the fourth floor, said Kenneth Piper, who runs the front desk.

"You could almost see the cars bouncing up and down in the parking garage," Piper said.

Bob Fenton, FEMA director of response for the region, said a computer simulation of the quake estimated that as many as 170 bridges on Hawaii could have suffered damage in the quake. More than 50 federal officials were en route to the Big Island to assess damage and begin recovery work, he said.

"We were rocking and rolling," said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. "I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth."

Gov. Linda Lingle issued a disaster declaration for the state, saying there had been damage to buildings and roads. There were no reports of fatalities, only minor injuries according to state Civil Defense reports.

Lingle told radio station KSSK she toured the Kona area by helicopter to view the damage, including earth falling into Kealakekua Bay.

"You could see the water was turning brown," said Lingle.

The Pacific Tsunami Center reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey gave a preliminary magnitude of 6.6. The earthquake was followed by several strong aftershocks, including one measuring a magnitude of 5.8, the Geological Survey said.

The quake did not generate a tsunami, only choppier waves than usual a center spokesman said.

Earthquakes in the 6.0 magnitude range are rare in the region, though they have happened before. The region more commonly sees temblors in the 3- and 4-magnitude range caused by volcanic activity.

"We think this is a buildup from many volcanic earthquakes that they've had on the island," Waverly Person, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.

The last Hawaiian earthquake this strong struck more than 20 years ago. That 6.7 magnitude temblor caused heavy property damage on Hawaii Island and collapsed trails into a volcano in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park on Nov. 16, 1983. A 6.1-magnitude quake also hit in 1989, according to the Earthquake Information Center.

Source:Xinhua/agencies