The Tsunami of April 1, 1946, in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

The tsunami which struck the shores of the Hawaiian Islands on the morning of April 1, 1946, was the most destructive, and one of the most violent, in the history of the Islands. More than 150 persons were killed principally by drowning, and at least 161 others were injured. Property damage reached about $25,000,000. The wave attack on Hawaiian shores was far from uniform. The height and violence of the waves at adjacent points varied greatly, and not always in the manner which would have been expected from superficial inspection and a study of the existing literature on tsunamis. Therefore, a detailed study of the effects of the tsunami has been made, in an effort to understand the observed variations and in the hope that the principles established may help lessen the loss of life and property in future tsunamis. Space is not available in the present short paper to discuss findings in detail, or even to present all the evidence for all the conclusions. These matters will be treated in detail in a longer paper (Shepard, Cox, and Macdonald, in preparation).