Rogue Wave

by Boyd Morrison

"If they don't have the fuel to turn back to the mainland, they need to land at Wheeler. I don't want anything landing at the commercial airports after ten minutes from now."

  Renfro clapped his hands.

  "OK, everybody. A million people are counting on us. Let's do it."

  Renfro got up, and except for Chet Herman, the group dispersed.

  "What about me?" Herman said.

  Renfro paused. The equipment in the broadcast room was designed to be easy to operate, but he still needed to have someone operate it while he was on air. The current warning was on a loop, and he would have to break in.

  "You're with me," said Renfro. "I need you to help me with the broadcast." Everyone in the center was familiar with how to operate the broadcast booth so that there was redundancy.

  Renfro seated himself in front of the camera and nodded at Herman, who hit a few buttons and then pointed at Renfro. The red light on the camera came on, and Brian Renfro began the announcement that would make him famous across the world.

  "Hello, I am Brian Renfro, duty officer at Hawaii State Civil Defense. A tsunami warning has been issued for the entire Pacific, including the Hawaiian Islands. I am here to update that warning. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center now has clear evidence from a deep-sea buoy that a massive tsunami is headed toward Hawaii. When it makes landfall, the tsunami is expected to be over 80 feet in height. We have lost contact with Christmas Island, and we know that a huge tsunami has hit Johnston Island. At 10:45 AM local time, the wave is expected to make landfall at the southern tip of the Big Island. It will hit Oahu and Honolulu at 11:22 this morning. The wave arrival times for the other islands will be scrolling across the bottom of the screen. If you are listening to this on the radio, the arrival times will be broadcast at the end of this announcement."

  He took a deep breath to steel himself for what he would say next.

  "Larger waves may follow. Again, there is a strong possibility of multiple waves, and the first wave may not be the largest wave. The biggest wave could reach over 200 feet in height. Therefore, we are urging all residents of the Hawaiian Islands to immediately leave their present locations and evacuate as far inland as possible. If you are already in a sea-going vessel, do not return to shore. Get as far out in the ocean as you can."

  At this point, he decided not to mention the asteroid. Without proof, he couldn't be sure that people would take the warning seriously if he told them that an asteroid strike was the cause of the tsunami.

  "If you have evacuated to the upper floors of a building, you are not safe. Please leave the building immediately and walk to high ground. Only those who are incapable of walking should take vehicles.

  "Please do not panic. If you begin to walk now, you will have time to get to high ground. When we have further information, we will broadcast a new warning. But do not stay by your television. Take a portable TV or radio with you as you evacuate. Authorities will be assisting the evacuation.

  "Good luck and God help us all."

  Chapter 22

  10:37 AM

  45 minutes to Wave Arrival Time

  Kai had decided to call Rachel himself this time. He needed her to know how dangerous the situation was, especially because what he was telling her sounded so improbable.

  "It's good you didn't have Brad call me," Rachel said. "Then I'd be sure it was joke."

  "I know this sounds crazy, but it's what the data are telling us."

  "My God! An asteroid? I can't believe it."

  "I know. But if I'm right, nobody is safe in that hotel."

  "What about the Starlight restaurant on the 28th floor? We've got lots of room up there."

  "Rachel, even if the wave doesn't reach that high, the building might collapse."

  "But we have over a thousand guests staying in the hotel. Not to mention a ballroom full of disabled veterans."

  "You've got to start evacuating them now. Do you have any buses for them?"

  "I had some scheduled to pick them up and take them to the cemetery for the ceremony this afternoon, but they're not supposed to be here for another hour."

  "Look, it's at least a 15 minute walk to a safe zone from there. That means you've only got about 30 minutes left to get everyone out."

  "That's not enough time…"

  "Rachel, the tsunami doesn't care if it's enough time. That's when it's going to get here. And anyone left in the hotel after that time won't make it."

  Kai could hear a pause while she tried to accept what he was telling her.

  "OK," she finally said. "Where should they go?"

  "They should use one of the west bridges off of Waikiki and then just head uphill until they can't go any farther. The best would be for them to try to get up to the Punchbowl or into one of the hillside neighborhoods. If they aren't safe there, I don't know where they'll be safe." Punchbowl National Cemetery was an extinct volcanic crater holding vast rows of veterans' graves. The sides of it were over 400 feet high.

  "What about Lani? What about Teresa and Mia?"

  "I haven't heard from them. I'm sure they've heard the warnings and are heading to high ground as we speak."

  "Then why haven't they called?"

  "The phone lines are jammed. I'm lucky I got through to you. Plus Teresa's phone battery is dead. She probably doesn't want to stop and call us from a landline until she's safe. Which is the right thing to do."

  "OK. But let me know the minute you hear anything. I better get going. I've got a lot of people to evacuate."

  "Rachel, promise me you'll be walking in 30 minutes."

  "I promise that as soon as I get everyone out, I'll get out too."

  "If you don't get out before that, you'll be stuck in the hotel. There won't be time to get to safety between the waves. They're too big."

  "I understand that, Kai, but I am responsible for these people. I have to do my job."

  "I know. Go do it. And honey, I love you."

  "I love you, too," Rachel said. "I'll see you when this is over."

  She hung up. Kai stared at the phone, hoping to hell that she was right.

  * * *

  Rachel immediately got on her walkie-talkie.

  "Marian, come in."

  "This is Marian. Rachel, are you watching the TV?"

  "No, I'm up in the ballroom."

  "They just issued a new tsunami warning. But now they're saying…"

  "They're saying it's going to be a lot bigger, and they're telling us to evacuate the hotel."

  "So you are watching it."

  "It doesn't matter. We've got to evacuate."

  "I was having problems just getting people to go back to their rooms. We're swamped down here in the lobby."

  "I know. You've been sending the guests with rooms on the first, second, and third floors to the Wailea Ballroom, right?"

  "Yes, that's the procedure."

  "Not any more. Go up and tell them to leave the hotel. They should head up Kalakaua Avenue. Then have them go up Manoa Road to Woodlawn."

  "Woodlawn? That's got to be at least three miles away."

  "I know. That might be far enough inland."

  "Are you kidding?"

  How many people are going to ask me that today? Rachel thought.

  "I'm not kidding," she said. "Just do it."

  "OK, but how do I convince the guests? Some of them have asked me where the best place to view the tsunami is." Marian paused for a moment. "What if we set off the fire alarm?"

  "I thought about that," Rachel said, "but it might make people more confused. They might think it's an alarm for the tsunami and stay where they are."

  "Then what about the people already in their rooms?"

  "First, spread the word to the staff that we're evacuating the hotel. Then after you've informed the guests in the Wailea Ballroom of what's going on, take five of the front desk staff and go room to room and make sure people know to evacuate."

  "What if they won't?"

  "We can't force them to leave, but make sur
e they understand how dangerous the situation is. Remember, my husband is the Director of the PTWC. If he says to get out, we're going to damn well do it."

  "And what about you?"

  "I've got 500 guests in the Kamehameha Ballroom. I don't leave until they do."

  Chapter 23

  10:39 AM

  43 minutes to Wave Arrival Time

  Captain Martin Wainwright peered through the cockpit window of his C-130H at the bright blue ocean below. The chatter coming over the radio was like nothing he had heard before in his eight years of flying for the 314th Airlift Wing. Reports were being thrown around about an immense tsunami heading towards Hawaii, but from an altitude of 31,000 feet, the sea looked as calm and flat as a pond in his native Tennessee.

  The Air Force transport under his command had been flying for more than three hours on a mission from San Diego to Hickam Air Base carrying three brand new Humvees for delivery to the naval base at Pearl Harbor. He was expecting the usual milk run for him and his three crewmates: land at Hickam, secure the aircraft, get off base for a few hours of sightseeing at Waikiki, hit the barracks for some sack time, then ferry a load of equipment back to the mainland the next day. Nothing that he hadn't done a dozen times before. But the order he was now being given by the Honolulu Air Traffic Control Center was extraordinary.

  "This is Air Force 547," Wainwright said. He wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. "Say again, Honolulu control. You're closing Hickam?"

  "Roger that, 547," the controller said, his voice clipped and strained. "You are instructed to turn back immediately to the mainland and make for the nearest possible landing site."

  "That's a negative, Honolulu control. We're past the point of no return." The four-engine turbo prop had already sucked up over half the fuel in its tanks. They wouldn't make it within 300 miles of San Diego before they ran out of gas. The Hawaiian Islands was one of the most remote archipelagos in the world, which meant that there weren't any other choices to land.

  "Roger that, 547. You aren't the only one. Continue on your current heading. We'll try to make room at Wheeler for you."

  "Affirmative, Honolulu control."

  "And 547, be advised that we'll be evacuating Honolulu control in 30 minutes. We'll be turning control over to Wheeler Field at that time."

  Wainwright glanced at his copilot in disbelief. To close down the airport was one thing, but shutting down the control center was unprecedented. The troubled look on his copilot's face reflected his own. Their routine run to the islands had just become a nail-biter.

  "Roger, Honolulu control," Wainwright said. "We'll keep our ears open for future updates."

  Honolulu control went on to warn other inbound aircraft, but Wainwright continued to monitor the radio, thirsty for further news.

  * * *

  Teresa had been waiting for 30 minutes, and still no sign of Mia and Lani. The sirens kept wailing at regular intervals, but without a radio, she didn't know what was going on. Even though it was critically low on battery power, she had turned her cell phone back on. She had to take the chance in case the girls called her.

  The situation on the beach had changed dramatically in the last half hour. When the beachgoers finally realized that the warning siren was not a test, many of them had quickly gathered their belongings and started heading out. But many others, much to her surprise, kept on doing what they were doing. They seemed completely unconcerned about the fact that a monster wave could be headed their way.

  Even when the police had started to arrive about 10 minutes after the first siren had gone off and blared their loudspeakers at the beach, some souls still did not heed the call.

  As he was making his way up the beach, one of the policemen had stopped when he reached Teresa.

  "Ma'am, you need to leave the beach immediately. There is a tsunami coming."

  "I can't. My daughter and her friend are somewhere on the beach, and they're probably going to be coming back at any minute. Can you tell me anything else about the tsunami?"

  "We're getting a lot of conflicting information. All I know is that we were told to get everyone off the beach as soon as possible. But I've done these kinds of evacuations before. We've got a few hours to go. You should be OK."

  "But the radio said it would be here in an hour."

  "Like I said, lots of confusing info. I bet they're using mainland time instead of Hawaii time."

  "Why isn't everybody leaving?"

  "We always get the nuts who want to come down and see the tsunami. They figure that they'll head up to one of the hotels and have a party when the tsunami gets here."

  "Even after the Asia tsunami?"

  "Well, not as many nuts now, but a lot of kids think they're invincible. I see it every time. We can't force them to leave. It's still a free country. Even if that means they're free to die. I'm sorry, ma'am. Good luck."

  He continued on at a deliberate pace. His comment about teens feeling invincible worried her.

  Surely if Mia and Lani had heard the sirens, they would have had plenty of time to get back to her by now. She had been torn about whether to leave her location and chance missing the girls if they returned to find her. But by this time, the waiting had become agonizing. She just couldn't sit there passively and hope they came back. She had to do something.

  She rummaged through her bag until she found a Post-It pad and a pen. On the pad, she scribbled a note to the girls.

  Mia and Lani, I have gone to find you. If you find this note, go to the Grand Hawaiian and find Rachel. I will meet you there. Teresa.

  The Grand Hawaiian was only half a mile from her location, so that seemed like the best place to meet if they were able to rendezvous. She certainly didn't want them waiting around on the beach until she came back.

  Teresa took her keys and wallet out of her purse, placed the notepad at the top of the purse, and wrapped it in her towel. She could only hope that no one would steal the purse before the kids saw the note.

  She then began jogging in the direction of Diamond Head, the direction in which she saw the girls go, yelling the their names as she went.

  Within a minute, her phone rang. She looked at the number on the caller ID, hoping it was the girls. The number came up as unknown. They could have been calling from a pay phone.

  When she answered, it was a familiar voice, but one that surprised her.

  "Teresa, it's Brad. Thank God, I finally got through to you. The lines have been jammed."

  "Brad, have the girls called you?"

  "What? Aren't they with you?"

  "They went shopping about 40 minutes before the siren went off, and they haven't come back. I'm looking for them now."

  "Jesus! Teresa, you have to get as far away from the beach as you can. The tsunami is going to be huge."

  "I can't leave them here! What if they can't hear the warning?

  "With all those sirens going off? I'm inside a concrete building 300 yards from the beach, and I can hear them. Come on, they had to have heard it."

  "Then why didn't they come back to me? Something's wrong! I'm not leaving until I find them!"

  "OK! OK! We'll figure out something. Where are you?"

  "I'm on Waikiki near the Hyatt. But my phone's battery is drained."

  "I know. I got the message. If the kids call us, we'll tell them to meet you and Rachel at the Grand Hawaiian, but you've got to be there before…"

  Teresa's cell phone beeped, and Brad's voice cut out. The display showed a blinking battery graphic and then went dead.

  She closed the phone and began calling out Mia and Lani's names again, angling up to Kalakaua Avenue so that she would have both the shops on the streets and the beach in view. She had only gotten a block when she saw a clothing store called Sweet that looked like it catered to teens. She entered the store and looked toward the back. She yelled the girls' names in a manner that would have raised eyebrows on any other occasion.

  TVs mounted along the walls normally showed music videos in a sto
re as hip as this, but they were now all turned to various news stations. Most displayed the tsunami emergency broadcast warning. Others were tuned to national news networks that didn't carry the signal.

  A young saleswoman who had been entranced by the broadcast whipped around when she heard Teresa call for the girls.

  "Ma'am,' she said, smacking gum as she talked, "we're closing for the evacuation."

  Teresa took a photo of Mia from her wallet. It was a year old, but it was good enough.

  "Have you seen this girl?"

  The saleswoman looked at it and shook her head.

  "She probably took off. I'm leaving in a minute myself. Can you believe what they're saying?"

  "I don't live here, so this all new for me." Teresa headed for the door to continue her search.

  "Yeah, but 200 feet high? It's scary."

  That stopped Teresa in her tracks.

  "200 feet?" she said. "What are you talking about?"

  "That's how big they're saying the tsunami is going to be. It's got to be some kind of hoax, right?"

  Teresa thought about what Brad had said. "Oh my God! When he said it was going to be huge, I thought…"

  "What's that?" The saleswoman pointed at one of the TVs.

  On one of the national feeds, the view had changed to a camera in a helicopter. It focused on the rocky black coastline. Two people could be seen waving to the camera from a cliff top high above the waves breaking on the rocks below. A graphic at the bottom of the picture said "Ka Lae, Hawaii, southernmost point in the US, Live."

  "Turn it up," Teresa said.

  The woman aimed the remote at the TV, and they could hear the announcer's voice.

  "…should not attempt what you see these people doing. Again, we are looking at a helicopter camera shot of the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii, the first place where we are expecting the tsunami to make landfall. Our exclusive coverage comes courtesy of KHAI, whose helicopter was over the volcano at Kilauea for another story today. Apparently, two intrepid hikers have decided they wanted to be the first to see the tsunami and have chosen a cliff-side vantage point. They appear to be at least 50 feet above the water, so we'll have to hope they'll be OK. They have not responded to repeated requests to leave the area."