“I apologize for the interruption. I have just been informed that a tsunami warning has been issued for the Hawaiian Islands.” A buzz ran through the crowd, and the governor raised her hands to quiet them. “Now, as you might have guessed, this will require me to cut the speech off here so that I may attend to the emergency—”
Rachel’s walkie-talkie squawked to life, and she stepped off the dais to answer it. It was Max.
“Rachel, are you there?”
“Max, did we get a tsunami warning?”
“It just came in a few seconds ago. How did you know?”
“That’s not important. Get the book out and start following the emergency procedures. Make sure you notify the staff first. They need to keep the guests from panicking. I’ve already informed the governor.”
“Got it.”
“Hopefully, it’s just a false alarm, so let’s make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. I’ll be down when I can.”
“But—” Max sputtered.
“The governor’s wrapping up. I’ve got to go. Just keep calm.” She replaced the walkie-talkie and stepped back onto the dais next to the governor.
“… so I urge you to stay where you are, and Mrs. Tanaka, the hotel manager, will see to it that you are well taken care of. Let us all pray that this is a false alarm so that we can continue with our holiday remembrances at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery later this afternoon. I hope to see you there. God bless us and God bless the United States of America.”
The crowd applauded as the governor left with her gaggle of assistants, and Rachel took the podium. Hundreds of concerned faces looked up at her. She paused to make sure she could keep her voice calm and professional.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Rachel Tanaka, the hotel manager. This tsunami warning is an unfortunate development, but we’ll try to do our best to make you comfortable until this is over. This hotel has been designed with the latest in tsunami safety design elements, and you are more than sixty feet above the ground here. Of course, you are free to leave if you desire, but we recommend that you stay where you are, enjoy our hospitality, and wait for the all-clear to sound. We will inform you about further developments as we get them. So sit back, relax, and I’m sure this will all be over quickly.”
FOURTEEN
Teresa had just dozed off, soothed by the warm sand and light breeze from the ocean. When the warning siren went off, it startled her so much that the book resting on her hand went flying and landed next to an elderly couple sitting in beach chairs five feet away. She sat up and looked around to see where the sound was coming from. After a few seconds she spotted a bright yellow siren atop a pole a few hundred feet along the beach. The wail rose and dropped in pitch, reminding her of the air raid sirens she had heard in movies.
The man in the chair rose and picked up the book. Although he wore a hat and had slathered his nose with zinc oxide, the poor guy was only another hour from a severe sunburn on the rest of his body. He handed the book to her.
“Here you go,” he said with a thick southern drawl. “You look pretty surprised.”
“I was taking a nap,” she said. “What the hell is that?”
“Yeah, I wonder what the heck is going on. We getting bombed by the Japs again? And on Memorial Day too.” He laughed at what he thought was a good joke.
Teresa didn’t smile back. “Maybe it’s some kind of drill.”
“Oh, yeah, tsunami warning test. I read about that on the plane over here from Mississippi. Hattiesburg is where we’re from. Never been out to Hawaii before. Wanted to read all about it. Couldn’t get Eunice here to read a bit of the book. Said she just wants to relax.”
“Did they have to schedule it for the middle of the morning?”
“Don’t know. Thought the book said it was sometime around the beginning of the month. Maybe I didn’t read it right.”
The siren continued to wail. Teresa thought it would go off after just a minute, but the minute passed. It didn’t stop.
“Darryl,” Eunice said, “what is that siren?” She picked up a radio that had been at her side and nervously twiddled with the knobs.
Darryl patted her reassuringly. “It’s a tsunami warning. Don’t worry about it, Eunice.”
Teresa scanned the beach; few of the other beachgoers even seemed to notice the siren. Most of them went on with whatever they were doing: playing, sunbathing, swimming. The siren seemed to have no effect on them, except that she saw several small children with their hands over their ears.
“That’s funny,” said Eunice. “The radio just said there was a salami warning. I thought that meant there was something wrong with the lunch meat on the island.”
“It’s just a test. And it’s tsunami, not salami. You know, a tidal wave.”
“They didn’t say it was a test. It just keeps repeating.”
Teresa walked over to the radio to hear it for herself. An even, measured male voice issued from the ancient-looking device. She supposed the voice was intended to convey a sense of calm about the situation, to prevent panic, but she thought it seemed mechanical, too detached, as if he were describing the potential for afternoon showers.
“… warning for the Hawaiian Islands. This is not a drill. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has advised that a destructive tsunami may be approaching the coastline of Hawaii. Evacuation procedures are under way. It is recommended that you move to high ground immediately. All Hawaii telephone books include maps that show evacuation routes and safe areas under the section called ‘Disaster Preparedness Info.’ The earliest arrival time for the tsunami is listed as follows: For the Big Island, the wave arrival time is approximately 10:44 a.m. For Maui, Lanai, and Molokai, the wave arrival time is approximately 11:14 a.m. For Oahu, the wave arrival time is approximately 11:22 a.m …”
Teresa fumbled through her purse to get her watch. It was 10:08 a.m. Only an hour and fourteen minutes until the tsunami arrived.
“… For Kauai, the wave arrival time is 11:35 a.m. Please follow all instructions given by your local authorities.” A brief pause; then: “This is a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands. This is not a …”
The message began to repeat.
Teresa felt her stomach go cold. “It’s not a test,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Darryl said.
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t repeat. It would end with a message saying that it was only a test, and the siren would shut off.”
“You mean there’s a real tidal wave coming?” Eunice said, alarmed at the prospect. “What should we do?”
“Is your hotel nearby?”
“Yeah,” Darryl said, “it’s that big one over there. The Hilton.” He pointed to a thirty-story building.
“What floor is your room on?”
“The twentieth.”
“Good. Go back to your hotel room until they say it’s over.”
“You should come with us. Got plenty of room. Maybe even order up some room service.”
“I can’t. I have to find my daughter and her friend.”
“Oh, my goodness, dear,” Eunice said. “You don’t know where they are?”
Teresa felt stung by the comment, even though she didn’t think Eunice meant it as an criticism of her parenting skills.
