Mat, how kind of you to post the hotel update for Fodorites!!!

It's sad to think of the damage and the rebuilding that will be necessary, but thank goodness no lives were lost!

Yes, thanks very much for the updates.

Any word about Puako? It appears they were closest to the epicenter.

BTW, the USGS upped the magnitude for the initial quake from 6.6 to 6.7:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/...kes/ustwbh.php

Aloha everyone... so good to hear you are holding together!

There are some good photos here:
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/sm/even...awaiiquake/p:1

I'll be curious to hear how things are panning out in the days to come.

Godspeed!

I lived in Hawaii for a while and if you go there you should be prepared to take care of yourself. Remember New Orleans? Don't depend on anyone to take care of you. Just give it a little thought.

The power system is fairly primitive and goes down frequently. Even if the power stays on there is not much information given out to the public in any orderly way.

We had a particularly violent storm one night. We had no electricity but had a battery powered radio. We tuned it to the designated civil defense station and the host was delivering birthday and anniversary greetings to locals. My power was out 4 days, my road was washed out and blocked by a tree.

We hiked out a mile until we spotted a power crew working on a sub-station and got some info from them. Otherwise we were on our own.

If the big one (earthquake, tsunami, volcano) ever hits, good luck if you are there!

kakalena, are you having a bad day? ;-)

I don't think this should be compared to N.O. for those traveling to HI in the near future. Afterall, nearly every area has its power restored and I doubt it'll take months and months to restore power and water to most of the islands where tourists frequent, like it has in N.O.

I hope all of you are able to continue with your travel plans. I'd go in a heartbeat . . . a disaster, as we are all quickly learning, can occur just about any time and anywhere. Parts of Buffalo and N.Y. still don't have power restored in all areas from the storm last week. I am not going to live in fear or cancel travel plans out of fear, but I am thankful for good folks, like Fodorites, that help us all make informed decisions!

Bayou,

I didn't compare the recent damage in Hawaii to New Orleans. I said that people should be prepared and give some thought to taking care of themselves.
I only gave you one example. I could give you more.

You aren't going to get in your car and drive out of there. It's only common sense.

Yes, it's common sense, but is it totally accurate for the areas where tourists will be in Hawaii over the next few weeks??? Loss of tourism could really damage their economy, and although this is very unfortunate, as local posters have said a lot is already getting back to normal. I think we should be hesitant before those of us not there at present start telling people to remember New Orleans when they are discussing their own future travel plans to Hawaii.

Most things should be more or less back to normal within a few days. We're simply cleaning up from the loss of power & water, and I imagine the Big Island has a little more cleaning up to do. But this is in no way a primitive place. Not to mention, don't forget this is Hawaii....everyone is very neighborly! I live near the Pagoda Hotel, they had free refreshments set up in the lobby. although the focus was their guests, they let us neighbors come in and help ourselves as well.

Melissa, I'm glad to hear such acts are plentiful in Hawaii, though not surprised. What some people still do not realize is that the people of this country - the volunteers, the churches, our neighbors, etc., are what saved our area after Katrina. No matter how bad it is, never underestimate the wonderful acts of human kindness you will witness!

http://72hours.org/earthquake.html

These are some basics. I live on a block that is very organized, we meet a couple of times a year, ask the city to send someone (ER coordinator, police officer, firefighter,paramedic) to talk for 1/2 hour with Q & As, and we potluck afterwards.

Wow, what a great site, and full of great info. Most could be adapted to any disaster. Thanks for sharing this, Shanghainese!

Lots of shaking & swaying at the nude beaches.

No damage reported.

Mel, I think the BI has a LOT more to do than "a little more cleaning up", especially when you hear e.g. of structural damage at the Kohala resorts. Tourists have a right to know the facts and to make their decision to visit based on those facts.

fdecarlo, I didn't mean to sound like I was minimizing it or being dishonest by saying "little more cleaning up." I probably should have sat and thought about my posting response and how other people might take it before I typed, but as you know the internet and its realm of immediate response (and subsequent knee-jerk responses), not to mention not being able to hear tone, can cause people to take things the wrong way. I'll try to be more careful so as not to sound so dishonest from now on.

Loss of tourism could really damage their economy.

Bayou, That sounds like a message from the chamber of commerce.

Loss of life could really damage your whole day.

Shanghainese, Just the kind of website people should look at before they go. Common sense...

Before you go to sleep, put your valuables, car/room keys, shoes, clothes in a place where you can grab them and run. Check the exit floor plans. Otherwise, you may find yourself naked in the hotel lobby waiting with a bunch of other tourists to be let back into rooms when the power fails.

Mel, sorry if it seemed like I was taking out my frustration on you. I've been watching coverage of this event for a whole day now and it's getting real old listening to governors, mayors and every other Hawaiian official trying to downplay the effects this quake is going to have on tourists. Even if the island cleans up the immediate mess, with structural damage they're looking at months of rebuilding, which will entail road delays, construction noise at hotels etc. I haven't heard anyone mention any of these consequences.

Oh, believe me, I know! I work in the tourism industry and that was one of my first thoughts (along with some unprintable words). How about that lame press conference at 3 p.m. yesterday, huh??

Out of thoughtfulness I will not print my opinion on that part of it. But I can tell you as we were picnicking and pretending we were in Paris, my friend & I were yelling at the radio!

Here in Metro Honolulu, I'm very happy to say that things have (almost) gone back to normal. Well, as normal as can be. The Pride of Aloha was not able to leave yesterday so it will set sail for Kauai this evening. The Pride of Hawaii will follow 30 minutes later, headed for Hilo.

kakalena, at least I am speaking from personal experience! Can you say the same? Please don't lecture me about what loss of life is like until you know something about me - you bark up the wrong tree.

It is a tough situation, and again, I think folks like mat, Melissa, and fdecarlo need to inform travelers of what they see, hear, and know, not outsiders like you and I, regarding the conditions there.

fdecarlo must be a CNN reporter.

My family is helping the HI economy! My father and his woman made reservations, I think they're going to Oahu, and they are NOT cancelling their early November trip.