Being located in the middle of the pacific ocean, several devastating natural disasters have struck Hawaii in the past, including hurricanes and terrible volcanic eruptions. Throughout history there have been several notable storms that gained international attention and awareness. It is because of events like these that the HDRA is so committed to serving the Hawaiian people through disasters like these.
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Hurricane Iniki: Hurricane Iniki is the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history. It was a category 4 hurricane whose eye passed right over the island of Kauai on September 11, 1992. Thankfully the hurricane caused only 6 deaths but the estimated damages were well over 1.8 billion dollars. In addition to the strong winds, large surges of ocean water followed in the hurricanes wake, causing flash flooding in some areas.
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Hawaii is also the U.S. state with the greatest chance of experiencing a tsunami, and usually reports at least one every year, with a severely damaging one every seven. On April 1, 1946 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred all the way up north in Alaska. Several hours later the resulting tsunami struck Hawaii, killing 159 people. Most of these ventured into the water when the recession before a tsunami exposed parts of the reef. Many were young schoolkids.
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The volcanoes that formed the Hawaiian islands also cause the most destructive earthquakes in Hawaiian history. In the past century and a half, several strong earthquakes have been recorded. These include earthquakes ranging from a 6-8 in magnitude. The most destructive occurred in 1868 on April 2nd. It had a magnitude of 7.9 and toppled hundreds of homes along the islands. It even triggered a 15 meter tall tsunami off the coast of Kilauea.