Latest news with #Oahu
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Brit family reveals Hawaii tsunami panic as they hunker down on 16ft floor of hotel and warning sirens blare
A BRIT family holidaying in Hawaii has revealed how they are stranded on the 16th floor of their hotel as the first tsunami waves hit the island. Emma Bardwell told The Sun how panic unfolded when warning sirens blared around the island amid possibilities of waves as high as 10ft. 10 10 10 Emma began a road trip from California with her husband and two daughters - with Hawaii being their last stop. The Brit family of four from Benfleet, Essex, booked rooms in the posh Beach Villas at Ko Olina in Oahu to spend some quality time together. But as they sat down by the pool, gazing at the beautiful sea horizon, emergency warnings about a potential tsunami began flashing on their phones. Emma said: "We're just having a normal day. And then we just got alerts on our phones saying a tsunami warning, and we need to evacuate. "My eldest daughter started panicking when she turned on the news and saw everything. We got really worried. "I was trying to stay calm because here with our two girls, so we didn't want to sort of show any panic. "But you can't help those images out of your head of what we saw during the Boxing Day Tsunami all those years ago." The Boxing Day Tsunami, also known as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history - killing more than 227,000 people. Emma and her family said a sense of chaos took over as they saw people rushing back from the beach to get back to their hotels. She revealed that she and her family tried to leave the hotel. But as soon as they got out, they were told by the staff to stay inside. "We have been stuck since," the family said, adding that the traffic outside of the hotel was "mental". Isobel Bardwell, 16 and the family's youngest daughter, said: "And then we saw the traffic outside, which was mental. "There was a high chance we would not have made it out of here anyway" Isobel, who is on her first trip to Hawaii, told The Sun she got really scared after hearing about the tsunami warnings. "I was really scared because this is my first time coming to Hawaii and being in a situation like this, she said. "So to see that that's a warning, I just basically was just really scared. I didn't know what to do," the teen girl added. Bardwells said they were currently sitting on their balcony, waiting to see if anything happens. Isobel said: "The sun has set, and the waves are getting bigger than they were before. It's just dark, and we're just basically all in suspense. "My family and I are still quite scared, since we're from England, so we don't really get this." 10 10 Hawaii is now bracing for the possibility of 3m (10ft) surges that could strike across the northern islands in the chain. Waves 1.2m (4ft) have already hit Hawaii, with video caught by locals showing the water receding moments before. Locals in low-lying and coastal areas are now heading for the hills with warning sirens blasting out across Honolulu. Drivers were seen waiting in huge queues of traffic as they try to flee Waikiki, Oahu. Hawaii's governor Josh Green said they have so far "not seen a wave of consequence." He said: "We still have not seen any wave activity come past the Big Island. That's important. "Until we see what happens on the Big Island, we won't feel we're in a position to start saying that we're in the clear." This could take up to three hours, he said. 10 10 Gov Green added: "Just lay low tonight and watch TV, please." The first tsunami waves hit the island after a monster 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Russia. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake struck about 84 miles off the coast at around 7.24pm EST (12:30am BST) at a shallow depth of 19.3km (12 miles). It is the 6th largest ever recorded and the largest since the 2011 shake, which led to a tsunami that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
New York Times
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jason Momoa Prefers to Be Called a ‘Sensitive Alpha Male'
You will want to know what it feels like to be pulled by the strong hands of Jason Momoa from the cyan waters of the Pacific and then to flop, into the belly of a canoe, like some recently netted fish. It feels, I can tell you, wonderful. This was on a paradisiacal morning in mid-July, just off the Western coast of Oahu. From the wing of a bright orange outrigger canoe, Momoa, casual in a sleeveless shirt and striped pants, like a god on holiday, pointed out the beach where he had learned to surf, the reef where his umbilical cord is buried. His father, Joseph Momoa, lay beside him, cradling an enormous conch shell. 'Aloha, what's up, my boy?' Joseph said. 'What's up, Pops?' his son answered as the canoe sped through the water. 'This is awesome.' In mellow moments like these, I could almost forget the primal horror of sitting in a swimsuit next to a man who often tops most-handsome lists. A waterman in the canoe's stern gestured toward a cove famous for Galápagos sharks, and then suggested we take a dip. Most days, I avoid shark-infested seas. But Momoa, 45, seemed unconcerned. I jumped in. Built like a boulder, if boulders had bedroom eyes and smelled of musk and adventure, Momoa is a bruiser with a difference. Though undeniably an action star — he has played an alien, a barbarian, a warlord in 'Game of Thrones,' a swordmaster in the 'Dune' movies, a superhero who could absolutely crush a freestyle relay in 'Aquaman' — he pairs hypermasculinity with surprising sweetness. 'The thing that makes him an interesting actor is his enormous heart and empathy — all in the body of a Trojan god,' Emilia Clarke, who played his bride on the HBO megahit 'Game of Thrones,' would later tell me in an email. (Asked about the first time they met, Clarke wrote: 'I remember it vividly! He wrestled me to the ground in the foyer of the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast screaming 'WIFEY!!!'') Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Al Jazeera
Tsunami waves hit US state of Hawaii after Russian quake
Tsunami waves have reached Hawaii in the United States following a massive earthquake off Russia's fare east coast. The tsunami raised sea levels by 3ft (0.9 metres) at the Haleiwa gauge, a monitoring station on Hawaii's north shore of Oahu, reported the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center around 8:30pm local time Tuesday July 29 ( 06:30 GMT on Wednesday July 30). Hawaii's Governor Josh Green said it is too early to tell how big the waves reaching Hawaii will be but warned that even small waves are driven with 'great force'. While there have been no reports of damage, he said authorities would wait up to four hours before being able to assess that the situation is safe: 'We are not yet in the clear', he said. The US National Weather Service also warned 'danger may persist for many more hours as wave activity continues'. 'Please do not put yourself in harm's way,' said Green, adding that Black Hawk helicopters and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people. Earlier, the US Tsunami Warning Centers had warned that waves as high of 1 to 3 metres (3.3-9.8ft) were possible in Hawaii, while the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management residents of some coastal areas to evacuate. Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency said all commercial harbours have been closed. Flights in and out of Hawaii's second-largest island of Maui were also cancelled Tuesday night, Green said. The tsunami threat in Hawaii comes as the aftermath of the 8.8 quake in Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka region – one of the largest on record – puts residents on alert in coastal areas of parts of Russia, Latin America and numerous Asian and Pacific island states. Waves up to 4 metres high (13 feet) have already struck Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka region, causing some buildings to be submerged. Thousands of citizens in impacted islands have been evacuated. Japan is bracing for damage as well, with evacuation orders issued for people living along coastal areas or rivers. Tsunami waves have also been detected by coastal gauges along Alaska's East Aleutian Islands and the Pacific side of the Alaska Peninsula, according to the US's National Weather Service (NWS) in Anchorage. The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska 'In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they're going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,' said Snider.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Honolulu's lawsuit against fossil fuel companies leads climate change legal fight
Honolulu is not alone in its effort to sue fossil fuel companies to hold them accountable for climate change harms, but the city's lawsuit is further along than similar litigation across the country. A hearing on Tuesday will indicate how these fights play out in court. In 2020, Hawaii 's capital city sued major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, arguing they knew for nearly half a century that fossil fuel products create greenhouse gas pollution that warms the planet and changes the climate. The companies have also profited from the consumption of oil, coal and natural gas while deceiving the public about the role of their products in causing a global climate crisis, the lawsuit says. Honolulu's lawsuit blames the companies for the sea level rise around the island of Oahu's world-famous coastline. It also warns that hurricanes, heatwaves and other extreme weather will be more frequent, along with ocean warming that will reduce fish stocks and kill coral reefs that tourists love to snorkel over. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages. Attorneys and media representatives for most of the companies didn't immediately respond to emails and phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on the lawsuit. ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 representatives sent emails saying they don't comment on pending litigation. A hearing is scheduled in state court on Tuesday for a defense motion that argues the lawsuit should be dismissed because the state's two-year statute of limitations expired. Honolulu's claims are based on allegations that have been publicly known for decades, the defense motion for summary judgment says. 'The issue of climate change and how to tackle it has long been part of public discussion and ongoing scientific research and debate for many decades,' a Shell spokesperson said in an email. 'There is a vast public record of media articles, scientific journals and government reports for well over 50 years that make this clear. The suggestion that the plaintiffs were somehow unaware of climate change is simply not credible.' While the case is still far from trial, it's much closer than some 30 similar lawsuits nationwide brought by other states, cities and counties. Lawyer arguments and the judge's questions on Tuesday will give a sense of how both sides will present their cases, said Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of the Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. 'The first trial in any of these cases will be very significant," he said. 'It will get a large amount of nationwide or even global attention because the oil companies have not yet had to take the stand and defend themselves in a trial.' Honolulu's lawsuit has reached this hearing stage, partly because the Hawaii Supreme Court denied motions to dismiss it, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take it on. Meanwhile, a similar lawsuit by Maui County, where a massive wildfire nearly two years ago burned down most of Lahaina and killed 102 people, is on hold. The state of Hawaii has also filed a similar suit, despite the U.S. Department of Justice in May suing Hawaii and Michigan over their plans for legal action against fossil fuel companies, claiming their climate actions conflict with federal authority and President Donald Trump's energy dominance agenda. Hawaii's attorney general's office filed a motion last week seeking to stop the Department of Justice's federal lawsuit: 'Allowing this case to proceed would give the United States license to wield the federal courts as a weapon against any litigation between nonfederal parties that an incumbent presidential administration dislikes." Honolulu's lawsuit has drawn the attention of Naomi Oreskes, a prominent Harvard University science history professor, who submitted a declaration in a motion opposing the defendants' motion for summary judgment. Oreskes drew parallels between the fossil fuel and tobacco industries. 'The fossil fuel industry and its allies and surrogates created an organized campaign to foster and sustain doubt about anthropogenic global warming and prevent meaningful action," she wrote. "They did this by influencing consumers and the general public.' Soon before a lawsuit by a group of youths against Hawaii's transportation department was scheduled to go to trial, both sides settled the case last year, agreeing on an ambitious requirement to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across all transportation modes no later than 2045.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Honolulu's lawsuit against fossil fuel companies leads climate change legal fight
HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu is not alone in its effort to sue fossil fuel companies to hold them accountable for climate change harms, but the city's lawsuit is further along than similar litigation across the country. A hearing on Tuesday will indicate how these fights play out in court. In 2020, Hawaii's capital city sued major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, arguing they knew for nearly half a century that fossil fuel products create greenhouse gas pollution that warms the planet and changes the climate. The companies have also profited from the consumption of oil, coal and natural gas while deceiving the public about the role of their products in causing a global climate crisis, the lawsuit says. Honolulu's lawsuit blames the companies for the sea level rise around the island of Oahu's world-famous coastline. It also warns that hurricanes, heatwaves and other extreme weather will be more frequent, along with ocean warming that will reduce fish stocks and kill coral reefs that tourists love to snorkel over. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages. Attorneys and media representatives for most of the companies didn't immediately respond to emails and phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on the lawsuit. ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 representatives sent emails saying they don't comment on pending litigation. A hearing is scheduled in state court on Tuesday for a defense motion that argues the lawsuit should be dismissed because the state's two-year statute of limitations expired. Honolulu's claims are based on allegations that have been publicly known for decades, the defense motion for summary judgment says. 'The issue of climate change and how to tackle it has long been part of public discussion and ongoing scientific research and debate for many decades,' a Shell spokesperson said in an email. 'There is a vast public record of media articles, scientific journals and government reports for well over 50 years that make this clear. The suggestion that the plaintiffs were somehow unaware of climate change is simply not credible.' While the case is still far from trial, it's much closer than some 30 similar lawsuits nationwide brought by other states, cities and counties. Lawyer arguments and the judge's questions on Tuesday will give a sense of how both sides will present their cases, said Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of the Columbia University Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. 'The first trial in any of these cases will be very significant,' he said. 'It will get a large amount of nationwide or even global attention because the oil companies have not yet had to take the stand and defend themselves in a trial.' Honolulu's lawsuit has reached this hearing stage, partly because the Hawaii Supreme Court denied motions to dismiss it, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take it on. Meanwhile, a similar lawsuit by Maui County, where a massive wildfire nearly two years ago burned down most of Lahaina and killed 102 people, is on hold. The state of Hawaii has also filed a similar suit, despite the U.S. Department of Justice in May suing Hawaii and Michigan over their plans for legal action against fossil fuel companies, claiming their climate actions conflict with federal authority and President Donald Trump's energy dominance agenda. Hawaii's attorney general's office filed a motion last week seeking to stop the Department of Justice's federal lawsuit: 'Allowing this case to proceed would give the United States license to wield the federal courts as a weapon against any litigation between nonfederal parties that an incumbent presidential administration dislikes.' Honolulu's lawsuit has drawn the attention of Naomi Oreskes, a prominent Harvard University science history professor, who submitted a declaration in a motion opposing the defendants' motion for summary judgment. Oreskes drew parallels between the fossil fuel and tobacco industries. 'The fossil fuel industry and its allies and surrogates created an organized campaign to foster and sustain doubt about anthropogenic global warming and prevent meaningful action,' she wrote. 'They did this by influencing consumers and the general public.' Soon before a lawsuit by a group of youths against Hawaii's transportation department was scheduled to go to trial, both sides settled the case last year, agreeing on an ambitious requirement to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across all transportation modes no later than 2045.
