1868 — April 2, Volcano induced earthquake, landslides/tsunami, Hawaii Isl., HI –79-81

— 81  Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Destructive Earthquakes in Hawai’i County Since 1868.

— 81  Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, USGS. Earthquakes (webpage).

— 81  Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 69.

— 79  Brigham, William T. “The Eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868,” 1869, p. 587.

— 78  (47 Tsunami, 31 earthquake)  NGDC/NOAA, The Significant Earthquake Data Base.

— 77  National Centers for Environmental Information. Significant Earthquake Database.

— 77  National Centers for Environmental Information. Significant Volcanic Eruption (webpage).

— 77  USGS. Historic Earthquakes. “Ka’u District…Hawaii, 1868… 04/02/1868

Falling Cliff                           (       1)

— 1  Hílo. Brigham, William T. “The Eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868,” p. 587.

Landslides/Mudflows            (     31)

–31  Brigham, William T. “The Eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868,” pp 574-575, 587.[1]

–31  National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA. Significant Earthquake Database.

–31  USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes, 1989.

–31  USGS. Historic Earthquakes.  “Ka’u District…Hawaii, 1868… 04/02/1868.

 Tsunami                                 (46-47)

–47  National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. Tsunami Event (webpage).[2]

–47  Brigham, William T. “The Eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868,” p. 587.

–46  In Ka-ù.

—  1  In Pứna.

–46  USGS. Historic Earthquakes.  “Ka’u District…Hawaii, 1868… 04/02/1868.

–46  Schmitt, Robert C.  Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 67.

 

Narrative Information

Hawaiian  Volcano Observatory, USGS: “The most destructive earthquake in Hawai`i’s history occurred on April 2, 1868, when 81 people lost their lives. With a magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum intensity of XII, this destructive earthquake destroyed more than a hundred homes and generated a 15-m high tsunami along Kilauea’s south coast.” (Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, USGS. Earthquakes (webpage). Accessed 1-2-2017.)

 NCEI (formerly NGDC) on Earthquake: “1868, April 2 [local time]. Earthquake during eruption generated tsunamis; heavy rains produced mudflows. 46 killed by tsunami, 31 by mudflows…

“Smoke and flames appeared in small volume in different places at the top of the Mauna Loa volcano on the 27th (of March, accompanied by light shocks.) Along the entire south coast of the island and in the interior, numerous collapses, slides, and rock falls took place. In Wood Valley between Kapapala and Pahala, a mud flow came down. It was 5 1/2 km long, 1 km wide at the middle and 2 km wide at the head, with an average thickness of 2 m, up to 6, 9 and 12 m in places, such as in depressions of the relief. It covered a village of 10 homes; 31 people died. In the basalt sheets west of Waiohinu, a crack was formed, along which a horizontal shift occurred. Cracks also developed at other places. The earthquake was accompanied by countless recurrent shocks, at least 2000, of which some were also destructive. Several days after the earthquake, strong eruptions of the Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes occurred. Lava flows destroyed 37 homes.” (National Centers for Environmental Information. Significant Earthquake Database.)

NCEI on Tsunami Event: “1868, April 3, 02:24 UTC. A destructive earthquake in Hawaii generated a tsunami that washed away 108 houses and drowned 47 people in Hawaii. The tsunami had its greatest intensity on the southeastern coast of Hawaii Island, approximately from Ka Lae Cape to Kealakomo. According to reports, the first wave on the coast of Kau and Puna districts had a height of 3-3.5 m above the usual tide line. Then the sea level fell at least 5.5 m below low tide. At least eight wave advances were observed.

“Iida et al. (reference #79)[3] and several subsequent catalogs give 81 fatalities, but this total includes victims of the earthquake and landslides. (reference #73).[4]

“The earthquake gave rise to a tsunami, which had its greatest intensity on the southeastern coast of Hawaii Island, approximately from Ka Lae Cape to Kealakomo. According to reports, the first tidal wave on the coast of Kau and Puna districts had a height of 3-3 1/2 m (10-12 feet) above the usual high tide line. Then the sea level fell, at least 5 1/2 m (18 feet) below the low tide mark. Returning in an enormous tidal wave, the sea washed away a multitude (108) of homes on the coast, and 46 (according to other sources, 81) residents drowned. Flood and ebb tides were observed at least eight times. The flooding was markedly greater at some places than at others, and the impression was created that this was due to the propagation of waves in a southwestern direction, at an angle of 45 degrees to the coast. The level rose highest at the capes and the prominent parts of the coast, while the water penetrated furthest inland along lowlands where it encountered no obstacles (Reference #415).[5]

“Of the total deaths resulting from the catastrophic event (variously estimated at 77 (Brigham, 1869),[6] 92 (Coan, 1869), or 81 (Bennett, 1869; Schmitt, 1969)) 46 resulted from the tsunami, all in Kau (Brigham, 1869; Coan, 1869; Schmitt, 1969). (reference #80).[7]”  (National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. Tsunami Event (webpage). Accessed 1-2-2017.)

NGDC/NOAA: “A destructive earthquake in Hawaii at 3:40 or 4:00 p.m. April 2 local time generated a tsunami that washed away 108 houses and drowned 47 people in Hawaii. The tsunami had its greatest intensity on the southeastern coast of Hawaii Island, approximately from Ka Lae Cape to Kealakomo. According to reports, the first wave on the coast of Kau and Puna districts had a height of 3-3.5 m above the usual tide line. Then the sea level fell at least 5.5 m below low tide. At least eight wave advances were observed.”  (NGDC/NOAA, Tsunami Event 1868 Hawaii)

Schmitt: “…on April 2, 1868…a tremendous earthquake shook the Island of Hawaii. This quake, the most severe ever recorded in the archipelago, reached an estimated magnitude of 7 ¾  on the Richter scale.  It caused widespread destruction throughout Kau and its effects extended all the way to Kauai.  More importantly, the shock triggered a vast landslide one to two miles wide and as much as 30 feet in depth, which swept three miles in as many minutes. This landslide killed 31 persons and 1,000 head of cattle, horses, goats and sheep.[8]  This cataclysm…was immediately followed by a subsidence of the coastline and a great tidal wave, which brought the overall death toll to 81.” (Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p.  69.)

“The next major tsunami [after 1837] struck Hawaii on April 2, 1868, in company with a mighty earthquake (the worst in Island history), a disastrous landslide, and the sinking of many miles of coastline by from three to seven feet. Heavy damage and loss of life occurred throughout Kau and Puna, from South Point to Hilo. Out of 81 deaths caused by this multiple catastrophe, 46 were attributed to the tsunami.”[9] (Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 67.)

 USGS, The Great Ka’u Earthquake: “April 2 marks the anniversary of the largest earthquake to occur in the Hawaiian Islands in historic time. This great earthquake occurred in 1868 and had an estimated magnitude of 7.9….. The eyewitness accounts of this great earthquake are a worst-case scenario for earthquakes in Hawaii…..

T.M. Coan, in an article for Scribner’s Weekly in 1871, wrote that “For four days this state of things continued, until at 4 p.m. on the 2nd of April, 1868, an event occurred which defies description. Such a convulsion has no parallel in the memory, the history, or the traditions of the Hawaiian Islands. The shock was awful. The crust of the earth rose and sunk like the sea in a storm. The rending of rocks, the shattering of buildings, the crash of furniture, glass, and earthenware, the falling of walls and chimneys, the swaying of trees, the trembling of shrubs, the fright of men and animals, made throughout the southern half of Hawaii such scenes of terror as had never been witnessed before. The streams ran mud, the earth was rent in thousands of places; and the very streets of Hilo cracked open. Horses and their riders were thrown to the ground; and multitudes of people were prostrated by the shocks. In the district of Ka’u more than three hundred shocks were counted upon this terrible day; people were made seasick by their frequency. By the culminating shock, nearly every stone wall and house in Ka’u was demolished in an instant.” Mr. Frederick Lyman wrote “. . . about 4 o’clock it shook as usual, but did not stop – shook East and West, North and South, round and round, and up and down – lessen, then increase in violence. It was impossible to stand; we had to sit on the ground, bracing with hands and feet to keep from rolling over.” ”  (USGS.  Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. “The Great Ka’u Earthquake of 1868.” April 1, 1994.)

USGS, Historic Earthquakes: “This major earthquake caused 77 deaths (tsunami, 46; landslide, 31). It knocked almost all wooden houses off their foundations in the Keiawa, Punaluu, and Ninole areas. In those areas, straw houses supported by posts in the ground reportedly were “torn to shreds.” At Kau, the more substantial houses and every stone wall were thrown down. At Waiohinu, 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 Kealakeku, strong trees were bent backward and forward “like reeds in a storm.” Ground waves as much as 0.6 meters from ground to crest were observed at Kohala. The motion was so violent at Ulupalakua that it was difficult for people to stand. Reports from Keaiwa and Kiolakaa suggest that vertical accelerations larger than 1g may have occurred.

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

“Landslides, which occurred beyond Hilo as far as Waipio and Hamaku, buried 10 houses in the area. A mass of earth as much as 3 kilometers wide and 9 meters thick swept down the hillside at Kapapala, carrying with it trees, animals, and people. Thirty-one people were killed.

“Along the Puna coast from Kapoho to Apua, the land subsided in places as much as 2 meters. At Kaimu, trees stood about 2.5 meters deep in sand and water. The plain at Kalapana sank about 2 meters, and water stood as much as 1.5 meters deep over 8 hectares (20 acres) of formerly dry land.

“A tsunami that struck the Kau-Puna coast added to the devastation. The waves were most destructive at Honuapo, Keauhou, and Punaluu. At Keauhou (now Keauhou Landing) the water rose 12-15 meters, destroying all the houses and warehouses and drowning 46 people. At Hilo, the height of the wave was about 3 meters, and at Kealakekua, 2 meters. The tsunami also was observed on Maui and Oahu. Also felt on Lanai, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai (about 560 kilometers from the epicenter).”   (USGS.  Historic Earthquakes.  “Ka’u District…Hawaii, 1868…”)

 Sources

Brigham, William T. Notes on the Eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868, Read 12-16-1868. Pp. 564-587 in Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. I, Part IV. Being a supplement of Article X, Part III. Boston: Riverside Press, March 1869. Accessed 1-2-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=LDNYAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, USGS. Destructive Earthquakes in Hawai’i County Since 1868. 7-15-2013 update. Accessed 1-2-2017 at: https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/destruct/

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, USGS. Earthquakes (webpage). Accessed 1-2-2017 at: https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/

 National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. Significant Earthquake Database Search. Accessed 1-2-2017 at:

https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=3423&t=102557&s=1&d=140,145,175,180&nd=display

National Centers for Environmental Information. Significant Volcanic Eruption (webpage). Accessed 1-2-2016 at: https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=3423&t=102557&s=1&d=140,145,175,180&nd=display

National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. “Tsunami Event.” Accessed 1-2-2017 at: https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=2125&t=101650&s=18&d=99,91,95,93&nd=display

National Geophysical Data Center. Tsunami Event 1868 Hawaii.  NGDC, NOAA. Accessed at:  http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=2125&t=101650&s=18&d=99,91,95,93&nd=display

Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, 86 pages. Accessed 9-20-2012 at: Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii – eVols – University of Hawaii. Accessed at: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fevols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10524%2F150%2FJL03074.pdf%3Fsequence%3D2&ei=UPSvVK2bLoO4yQTO74L4DA&usg=AFQjCNHER9A57xAr6d0m9mJcnsc4F2Z8Gg&bvm=bv.83339334,d.aWw

United States Geological Survey. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes (Website). July 16, 2008 update. Accessed at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/us_deaths.php

United States Geological Survey. Historic Earthquakes. Ka’u District, Island of Hawaii, 1868 04 03 02:25 UTC (04/02/1868 local) Magnitude 7.9 Largest Earthquake in Hawaii. January 30, 2009 last modified. At: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1868_04_03.php

 

 [1] This is in reference to one landslide “burying in a minute thirty-one human beings, many hundred head of cattle, and entire flocks of goats, and ending, four miles from its beginning, in a mighty river of mud.” On page 587 Brigham notes this was in Ka-ù.

[2] Has date as April 3 in data line, but April 2 in narrative background below the data line.

[3] Iida, Kurmizi, Doak C. Cox, and George Pararas-Carayannis. Preliminary Catalog of Tsunamis Occurring in the Pacific Ocean, HIG-67-10, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1967, 275 p. Bibliography to the Preliminary Catalog of Tsunamis Occurring in the Pacific Ocean, December 1967, 27 p.

[4] Cox, Doak C. Tsunami casualties and mortality in Hawaii. University of Hawaii Environmental Center, Special Report SR:0040, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 1987, 55 p.

[5] Soloviev, S. L. and Ch. N. Go. A catalogue off tsunamis on the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 1513-1968]. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 1975, 204 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5078, 1894, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1A OS2 1975, 293 p.

[6] W. T. Brigham had several pieces published in 1869: (1) “Notice of a new and most remarkable eruption of Mauna Loa, on the Hawaiian Islands.” Boston Society of Natural History Proceedings, vol. 12, pp. 82-83, 1869. (2) “Notes on the volcanic phenomena of the Hawaiian Islands, with a description of the modern eruptions.” Boston Society of Natural History, Memoirs, vol. 1, pp. 341-373, 1869. (3) “The eruption of the Hawaiian volcanoes.” Boston Society Natural History, Memoirs, vol. 1, pp. 564-588, 1869.

[7] Cox, Doak C. and Joseph Morgan. Local tsunamis and possible local tsunamis in Hawaii. HIG-77-14, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 1977, 118 p.

[8] Cites: Hawaiian Gazette, April 15, 1868; HG, April 29, 1868; F, May 1, 1868, pp. 33, 36 and 37; HG, Sept. 2, 1868; Hitchcock, loc. cit.

[9] Cites: HG, April 15, 1868 and April 29, 1868; F, May 1, 1868, pp. 33, 36, 37; C. H. Hitchcock, “The Hawaiian Earthquakes of 1868,” reprinted from The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. II, No. 3, September 1912, p. 187.