Photo By Staff Sgt. Lauren Main | Hawaii State Governor Neil Abercrombie speaks to local media on the 15th Wing flight...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Hawaii State Governor Neil Abercrombie flew over the Hawaiian Islands March 15 in order to assess what damage was caused by the March 11 tsunami.
Accompanied by the Adjutant General, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Darryll D.M. Wong; the Director of Land and Natural Resources, Mr. William Aila; and the Hawaii National Guard's Joint Chief of Staff, Army Col. Joe Logan, Governor Abercrombie said that, overall, the sheer force of a body of water moving like that was what struck him the most.
“[The damage] was extensive, but we can handle it,” Abercrombie said in a media interview after the Hawaii Army National Guard aircraft he flew in landed on the 15th Wing flight line here. County workers on the Big Island are already hard at work making repairs, he said.
“When you see the force of the wave we got, which of course is nothing compared to what happened in Japan; when you get out to [the bay] and realize a house was literally taken off its foundation and sailed across the bay before finally sinking … it gives you an idea of the kind of power that you’re dealing with and the good fortune we had,” Abercrombie said.
Abercrombie was thankful that only property damage occurred in Hawaii and there was no catastrophe involving loss of life or injury.
“Nobody got killed or hurt, because everybody paid attention,” the governor said.
Had there been massive damage, extending beyond the county’s capability, the Hawaii National Guard would have been called in to help, according to the Hawaii National Guard's Joint Chief of Staff.
“There would have been a joint effort run by either Joint Task Force Homeland Defense, [the U.S. Pacific Command], or [U.S. Army Pacific], and the Adjutant General would have formed a team so that, together, we could support the neighborhood, as we did during Hurricane Iniki in 1992,” said Logan.
The Hawaii National Guard was standing by starting Thursday afternoon, once they were warned that the tsunami was coming, he said.
“We would have used helicopters to save people from rooftops, like you see in Japan, had the water come up that far,” Logan said. “We would have had teams out doing hazardous materials inspections, and teams to do search and rescue and search and extraction from collapsed buildings and structures.”
The recovery period could still take months, Abercrombie said, but people are already back in business and volunteers are out helping to clean up debris.
“My biggest impression is how fast we’re coming back from the damage that was done,” the governor said.
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2011 01:23 |
| Story ID: | 67146 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HAIR RESERVE BASEOR-HICKAM, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 670 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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