In case of emergency...

Buy chocolates.  And soprasetta and provalone.  Not the cheap stuff, either.  You might be eating this for a few days.


It’s funny to think about how you would handle an emergency of the natural disaster variety.  We were watching Finding Nemo (the irony!) last night when the tsunami warning interrupted our broadcast.  We switched to the news to see the terrifying devastation in Japan.  My heart goes out to those who did not have the benefit of a six-hour warning, as we did, to evacuate and prepare for what might come.  If you have loved ones in the area, I hope they are safe and you hear from them soon.  


We were fortunate here on Maui.  But it was weird not knowing what would happen.  Our house is just inside the flood zone, at the bottom of a hill by the West Maui mountains.  We live on the second floor, but it was difficult to guess how high the water could come and if we evacuated, how long we would have to be away (up the street, camped out in our station wagon).  While Dave watched the news coverage, I headed to the grocery store.  We have both been sick and hanging out at home a lot, so we were out of snacks.  


I wasn’t sure if I was being a panicky haole girl, like the silly folks back home who raid the markets for toilet paper and bread every time the weatherman even says the word “snow”.  But when I went to the grocery store, everyone was there--filling water bottles, buying all the beer they could carry, and stocking up on food that doesn’t have to be cooked.  I saw a friend who I haven’t seen for months.  It was actually a rather jovial atmosphere at 10 p.m.  


You know that game about what would you take with you if you had to leave a burning house?  That’s how I kind of felt at the market.  I wasn’t super worried, just unsure of how long we might be without water or electricity if there was a lot of damage.  So I ended up with some good chocolate, two papayas, lots of power bars, almond butter, wasa crackers, multi-grain bread, fine italian deli meats, a can of tuna, tortillas, chocolate chip cookies, and some sweet potato chips.  It’s not the list I would make in a board room team building exercise, but it worked.  


At home, I somehow decided that upstairs would be safe, but I wasn’t sure the downstairs would stay dry.  This is probably because the edge of the flood zone goes exactly through the middle of our house, according to the maps.  So I brought all of the computer stuff upstairs, along with important papers and some of our camping gear.  Two grocery bags of journals and student work did not make the list.  I think I was secretly looking for an excuse not to finish my grading (the old “tsunami ate your homework” trick). 


Dave was still holding down the fort with the news as I circled around and tried to be prepared, like a good scout.  I wondered if I was over reacting, but it seemed like folks wanted us to take this evacuation thing seriously.  I settled down with him for a while to watch the coverage and chat on Facebook with my early-riser friends on the East Coast.  


A while later, Cori arrived from Kihei (definitely in the flood zone) with her dog, Luna.  I helped her bring her bags in and we hung out and watched the news some more.  Dave headed for bed.  Around 2 am, it sounded like the tsunami was definitely going to reach us, probably with waves around 6-8 feet high.  The way they explained it on tv was that this could send water inland for the width of a couple of football fields.  I don’t live on the water, but I can definitely see it from here.  I got a little nervous about my safe and dry second floor plan.  I packed up the station wagon with water, sleeping bags, dog supplies, and (of course) people snacks.  I dragged poor Dave out of bed at 3 am and said that we should probably drive up the hill.  Cori and Luna followed us in her car. 


There was quite a party going on at the top of our usually quiet neighborhood.  The street was lined with cars and folks were hanging out in lawn chairs, drinking beers and chatting with neighbors.  There was one VW bus in full-on camper mode (tent popped up, lights blazing).  We drove through slowly, looking for a place to land, and settled on a quiet, empty street just a block below the hilltop.  I spread the sleeping bags out in the back and snuggled up with Porter Brown, while Dave tried to get comfy in the front.  We listened to radio reports and napped a bit while waiting for word that it was safe to go home.  


When the first waves hit Maui, it sounded like it would not be too bad.  The waiting was weird, though.  Everyone had done so much to evacuate and prepare, to make sure we would be safe and dry, it was almost like people were sort of hoping for some big waves to show.  When the second wave hit Kahului (where the “city” and airport are located) at around seven feet, the water came in about a block and a half, as reported on the radio.  We listened for a while longer, and I realized our two story house, slightly uphill from the ocean front communities below, would be fine.  We headed home and crawled into bed, maybe around 5:30 am.  


Thanks to everyone for your kind words of support and love.  It was great to hear from our friends and family and to know that folks were thinking of us back home(s).  This morning, the warning and evacuation are still in effect and they are still getting four-foot swells in some spots, but it seems like everything is fine.  Our thoughts, wishes, prayers, go out to the people of Japan.  


Aloha, 
Jen