159-173)–165-179

lornajarrettblanchard April 1, 1946

–165-179 Blanchard range using 159 HI deaths for low-end and 173 for high-end.
— 165 Pararas-Carayannis, G. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake and Tsunami…, DOC, 1969.
— 165 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes. 2008 update.
— 165 USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Unimak Island, 1946 Apr 01 12:28:56.0 UTC.

Alaska ( 5)
— 5 Pararas-Carayannis. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake…Tsunami…Aleutian Islands. 1969.
— 5 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes, 2008 update.

California ( 1)
— 1 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes, 2008 update.

Hawaii (159-173)
— 173 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 232.
— 173 Iida. Data Rpt. No. 5, HIG-67-10, HI Inst. of Geophysics, 1967; in Schmitt 2009, 68.
— 173 Salsman, US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Technical Bulletin No.6, 1959, p. 1.
— 165 Gunn. “Unimak, Alaska, tsunami.” Encyclopedia of Disasters (Vol. 2). 2007, p. 397.
–159 Island of Hawaii, Hilo especially.
— 6 Other parts of Hawaii.
— 161 Thrum’s Hawaiian Annual, noted in Schmitt 2009, 68.
— 159 History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, April 1, 1946. “Alaskan Earthquake…”
— 159 All Islands. Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 68.
— 159 Pacific Disaster Center. Hawaii Tsunami Events. “1946.”
— 159 Pararas-Carayannis. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake…Tsunami…Aleutian Islands. 1969.
— 159 Tsunami Research Group. 1946 Aleutian Tsunami. University of Southern California.
— 142 Hawaii Board of Health, noted in Schmitt 2009, 68.

— 96 Hilo. Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 68.
— 96 “ History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, April 1, 1946. “Alaskan…”
— 25 Laupahoehoe, HI Isl. History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, April 1, 1946.
— 24 “ “ Wikipedia. “Laupahoehoe, Hawaii.” 1-13-2012 modification.
— 25 Elsewhere on HI Isl. Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, 68
— 38 Other HI islands. Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, 68.

Narrative Information

Pararas-Carayannis: “This earthquake generated one of the most destructive Pacific-wide tsunamis of the 20th century.” (Pararas-Carayannis, George. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake and Tsunami in the Aleutian Islands. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Environmental Science Service Administration, World Data Center, Coast and Geodetic Survey, May 1969.)

Tsunami Research Group: “During the quake, a large section of seafloor was uplifted along the fault where the quake occurred, producing a large, Pacific-wide tectonic tsunami.” (Tsunami Research Group. 1946 Aleutian Tsunami. University of Southern California.)

Alaska

“Near the generating area, at Unimak Island, huge tsunami waves reached…more than 100 feet above sea level and destroyed completely the newly built, U.S. Coast Guard’s Scotch Cap lighthouse. All 5 men of its crew were killed. The lighthouse was a steel-reinforced concrete structure and its base was at about 30 meters above sea level.

“The tsunami [moving at 500 mph (History.com)] continued on to the Hawaiian Islands reaching the north shore of Kauai island first, approximately 4.5 hours after the earthquake, and Hilo, 4.9 hours later.”

(Pararas-Carayannis, George. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake and Tsunami in the Aleutian Islands. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Environmental Science Service Administration, World Data Center, Coast and Geodetic Survey, May 1969.)

USGS: “This major earthquake caused only minor damage to buildings on Unimak Island, but it generated a tsunami that devastated the lighthouse and swept away its five occupants. The height of the wave at the lighthouse was estimated at about 35 meters. Tsunami damage also occurred at Dutch Harbor and Ikatan Island in the Aleutian Islands, on the west coasts of North and South America, and in Hawaii….” (USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Unimak Island, 1946 Apr 01 12:28:56.0 UTC.)

Hawaii

History.com, April 1, 1946: “On this day in 1946, an undersea earthquake off the Alaskan coast triggers a massive tsunami that kills 159 people in Hawaii.

“In the middle of the night, 13,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, a 7.4-magnitude tremor was recorded in the North Pacific. (The nearest land was Unimak Island, part of the Aleutian chain.)….

“In Hawaii, 2,400 miles south of the quake’s epicenter, Captain Wickland of the United States Navy was the first to spot the coming wave at about 7 a.m., four-and-a-half hours after the quake. His position on the bridge of a ship, 46 feet above sea level, put him at eye level with a “monster wave” that he described as two miles long….

“As the first wave came in and receded, the water in Hawaii’s Hilo Bay seemed to disappear. Boats were left on the sea floor next to flopping fish. Then, the massive tsunami struck. In the city of Hilo, a 32-foot wave devastated the town, completely destroying almost a third of the city. The bridge crossing the Wailuku River was picked up by the wave and pushed 300 feet away. In Hilo, 96 people lost their lives.

“On other parts of the island of Hawaii, waves reached as high as 60 feet. A schoolhouse in Laupahoehoe was crushed by the tsunami, killing the teacher and 25 students inside….

“The town of Hilo on the island of Hawaii was pounded by a series of 6 to 7 large tsunami waves coming in at 15-20 minute intervals. The highest of these waves had a run up height of 8.1 meters above sea level. The damage was extensive. The waves completely destroyed Hilo’s waterfront killing 159 people there. Every house on the main street facing Hilo Bay was ripped off its foundation and was carried across the street smashing against buildings on the other side.

“At Pololu Valley, on Hawaii, tsunami waves of over 12.0 m struck a school at Hawaii’s Laupahoehoe Point, and killed a number of children and also destroyed a hospital. Altogether a total 165 people lost their lives from this tsunami. Damage to property was estimated to be over $26 million (1946 dollars).

“The massive wave was seen as far away as Chile, where, 18 hours after the quake near Alaska, unusually large waves crashed ashore. There were no casualties.” (History.com. This Day in History, “Alaskan Earthquake Triggers Massive Tsunami.”)

Pararas-Carayannis: “There had been no warning to Hawaii as the Tsunami Warning System had not been established, at that time. The tsunami was extremely damaging in all the islands, but it was particularly devastating in the Island of Hawaii….

“In 1948, and as a result of this tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was established in Hawaii. This warning system was expanded in later years and became the headquarters of the International Pacific Warning System….

“The system…uses undersea buoys throughout the ocean, in combination with seismic-activity detectors, to find possible killer waves. The warning system was used for the first time on November 4, 1952. That day, an evacuation was successfully carried out, but the expected wave never materialized.” (Pararas-Carayannis, George. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake and Tsunami in the Aleutian Islands. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Environmental Science Service Administration, World Data Center, Coast and Geodetic Survey, May 1969.)

Schmitt: “The worst tsunami in Island history struck, without warning, on April 1, 1946. Both in property damage and loss of life this wave surpassed all of those that had preceded it. All parts of the Territory were affected, and Hilo most of all. Out of 159 deaths reported by the Red Cross, 96 occurred in Hilo, 25 elsewhere on Hawaii, and 38 on other islands of the chain. (Authorities differ somewhat on the exact total. The Board of Health reported only 142 deaths, probably because of omitting the missing; Thrum’s Annual gave 161; and both the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics reported 173. ) If the Red Cross count is correct, the 1946 tsunami was the sixth worst disaster in the history of Hawaii.” (Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 68.)

Tsunami Research Group: “The effects of the tsunami were also felt along the west coast of the United States. The community of Taholah, Washington was struck by an approximate five-foot surge, which damaged several boats in the harbor. Coo’s Bay, Oregon reported a ten-foot wave. In California, Fort Bragg reported five- to nine-foot waves, and a 13.5-foot wave hit Muir Beach. The Half Moon Bay area was struck by waves estimated at 10 to 14 feet high, which damaged several boats and structures along the waterfront, and caused an estimated 20,000 dollars in damage. One person drowned as a result of the ten-foot waves that struck Santa Cruz. The tsunami was also noticed in Santa Barbara and the greater Los Angeles area.” (Tsunami Research Group. 1946 Aleutian Tsunami. University of Southern California TRG.)

USGS: “At Hilo, Hawaii, the tsunami took 159 lives and caused $26 million loss to property. The tsunami caused one death in California.” (USGS. Historic Earthquakes: Unimak Island, 1946 Apr 01 12:28:56.0 UTC.)

Sources

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Gunn, Angus M. Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies (Volume 2). Greenwood Press, 2007.

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, April 1, 1946. “Alaskan Earthquake Triggers Massive Tsunami.” Accessed 12/06, 2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=04/01&categoryId=disaster

Pacific Disaster Center. Hawaii Tsunami Events. “1946.” Accessed 9-20-2012 at: http://www.pdc.org/iweb/tsunami_history.jsp

Pararas-Carayannis, George. The April 1, 1946 Earthquake and Tsunami in the Aleutian Islands. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Environmental Science Service Administration, World Data Center, Coast and Geodetic Survey, May 1969. At: http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1946.html

Salsman, Garrett G. The Tsunami of March 9, 1957, as Recorded at Tide Stations (Technical Bulletin No. 6, Coast and Geodetic Survey, U.S. Department of Commerce). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959. Accessed 5-7-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31210025030170&view=1up&seq=3

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

Tsunami Research Group. 1946 Aleutian Tsunami. University of Southern California TRG. Accessed at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1946/webpages/index.html

United States Geological Survey. Deaths from U.S. Earthquakes. Nov 23, 2009 modification. Accessed at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/us_deaths.php

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: Unimak Island, 1946 Apr 01 12:28:56.0 UTC, Magnitude 8.1. October 21, 2009 modification. Accessed at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1946_04_01.php

Wikipedia. “Laupahoehoe, Hawaii.” 1-13-2012 mod. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laup%C4%81hoehoe,_Hawaii