At least two Bowling Green families were on separate Hawaiian Islands Thursday night when tsunami
warnings sounded following the 8.9 earthquake off the northern coast of Japan.
Both reported Friday afternoon (Bowling Green time) they are fine and have seen little evidence of
damage. Hawaii time is five hours behind Bowling Green.
Amy O’Donnell said she and her husband, Ed, are nearing the end of a week-long stay at Kona, which is on
west side of the Big Island of Hawaii. The island is at the eastern end of the chain of Hawaiian
Islands. They expect to begin their trip home this weekend.
John and Donna Helm are on the island of Kauai, which is at the western end of the chain. Their visit is
in conjunction with the marriage of one of their sons.
Amy O’Donnell said they were evacuated about 10 p.m. Thursday Hawaii time from their lodging at Kona
Coast Resort to a shopping center across the street that is on higher ground. They were still being kept
there after 2 p.m. Friday BG time.
At the time she called the Sentinel-Tribune it was apparent people were beginning to get back to their
normal routines and "it’s another beautiful day in Hawaii." She was impressed with the
organization of the evacuation.
"This is our third visit and while we’ve walked we’ve seen the tsunami zone warning signs but never
took them to heart," she said.
People were handling the situation in a variety of ways from sleeping on a concrete floor to what
appeared to be a version of tailgating in the parking lot, she said.
"Thankfully we’ve seen nothing devastating. It has been a pretty easy ride for us. I know my mother
is with the children (at home), so I think we have all the bases covered."
John Helm said he and some of his family were driving on the northern coast of Kauai Friday afternoon BG
time. Their hotel is on high ground and was not evacuated Thursday night. The lower areas were
evacuated. From higher ground the Helms were able to see where "some boats were knocked around and
there was some water inland. Nothing seemed to be damaged," Helm said.
He said the concern earlier Thursday was with earthquakes off the coast of the Big Island that were
associated with continuing eruptions of the Mount Kilauea volcano.
The Helms are in Hawaii for the wedding of son Mike. His bride, Marika, is half Hawaiian and wanted to be
married there. Another son, Matt, and his girlfriend, are also on the island.