Tsunami update

We left the house (1km from the ocean and only 12m up) about 3-3.5 hours before the tsunami surges started coming by, and hung out at my office, waiting for an official all-clear to go back home. We were safe, and based on the reports we saw, we were optimistic that the house was unaffected.  

Various spots around the Hawaiian islands got 2-3 meter surges; I heard reports of scattered damage. Nothing that size should bother our neighborhood, but there was a lot of uncertainty about how long they were going to keep us out of the house.

The house came through fine. Surges in Hilo were 4-5 feet - not enough to get anywhere near the house. The biggest inconvenience was waiting for Civil Defense to finally let people go home.  Kailua-Kona and Napo'opo'o on the west side of the island didn't fare so well; there was some flooding and some damage to structures and vehicles.