Remember the 1975 Kalapana earthquake and tsunami

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Fifty years ago, in November 1975, scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory knew something big was about to happen because of a number of small “foreshocks” at Kalapana on the Big Island.

Then it happened.

Just before 5 a.m. on November 29, for 30 seconds, it seemed like the whole world was shaking violently.

“It registered a magnitude of 7.7 on the moment scale, and to give people an idea, the earthquake we had in 2018 had a magnitude of 6.9, and when you regress all the equations, that's about 16 times smaller than the earthquake in 1975,” said Dr. Ingrid Johansson, a research geophysicist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The massive earthquake led to a huge tsunami.

Caught in the middle of it all was Scout Troop 77, camped at Halapi on the south coast of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

“It's unbelievable that they escaped, because it's a narrow space where Halabi Bay is. There's a very big cliff behind where they were with the coconut grove and the beach, so when the earthquake happened, it split and tons of debris and rocks fell, so they were running out of that toward the ocean, and then the tsunami arrived. So, boy, you want to talk about the worst possible scenario,” Cindy Preller said. With the Pacific Tsunami Museum.

“One story is about allergies to their shoes,” Johansson says. “They tied their shoes in their tent to prevent bugs from getting into their shoes and getting out, and now they're going to try to quickly untie their shoes and get out.”

Sadly, their scout master did not escape in time and another person died as a result of this devastating event. 28 others were injured while the earthquake caused damage estimated at $4.1 million.

Last Saturday, the actual 50th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami, many gathered at the Pacific Tsunami Museum to commemorate those who died.

“That is the core mission of the museum, which is to honor the stories of survivors and their families,” Preller said.

On the plus side, what happened on that long ago date has provided plenty of data for geophysicists. Scientists are now able to predict certain events that could trigger future eruptions or earthquakes based on ongoing activity on Kilauea, Johansson says.

However, she encourages everyone to always be alert for the unpredictable.

“In general, being aware of everything that happens at the volcano, you know, just being aware of how things change,” she said. “It's really important to prepare for earthquakes or anything else that might happen.”

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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