TOKYO, Japan (WGGB) - Once the quake and tsunami hit Japan, the word went out around the Pacific. The threat of a tsunami in nearly 20 countries, including the U.S. and first in its path - Hawaii.
The news of the earthquake and the tsunami warning hit Hawaii late Thursday night. We spoke with former abc40 morning anchor Faye Hoffman early Friday morning just moments before evacuating her house just a few blocks away from the beach. The waves were expected to roll in around 8 a.m. Hawaii time.
"The tsunami sirens have been going off for two hours now," Hoffman said. "Unfortunately the people living in this area don't have transportation to higher ground. It's an issue at this point."
Faye told us that some people fled to a nearby hotel while others were about to jump in the back of a big truck and head to higher ground.
When asked if there was a sense of fear or a sense of urgency, Faye said, "You know, it doesn't seem to be so with the people that have been through this before. This is my first time with the tsunami warning so of course, I am a little uncomfortable at this point and I am just waiting for my ride to leave."
Laura Beynon, a senior at BYU Hawaii and from Belchertown, also got thee evacuation order. Along with other students, she was forced to go to the second floor of a building and unsure what was really happening.
"I was just really nervous," Beynon said. "I was very anxious. I just felt like we couldn't get any good information. That was just kind of the consensus on the news. You just have no idea."
When the waves did hit, she felt a big relief.
"I guess the first tsunami hit (and it) was about two feet," she said. "A lot better than thee expected two meters."
But even though Hawaii was spared, Laura and her fellow students are concerned more about the people in Japan.
"We have an international student body and any type of international disaster really hits home here and yeah, I'd say we've been very fortunate," she said.
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