With unexpected waterfalls and cliffs 100 feet and higher, driving the long way the Hamakua Coast line is amazing. It also allows you to visit side attractions such as Akaka Falls and see Lapahoehoe point.

Once you enter Hilo you might think to yourself, “This is it?” Down town Hilo consists of wide open lush green parks as a reminder of the tsunamis that devastated this once tin roofed agriculture community. In 1946 and again in 1960 tsunamis battered this area claiming more than 220 lives.

These huge waves can reach amazing speeds up to 500 miles an hour over thousands of miles of open water. On April 1, 1946, tsunami waves generated by an earthquake in Aleutian Islands raced 2,300 miles in five hours sending a 25 foot wall of water bashing into the coast of Hilo. Striking with little to no warning this massive wave took the lives of 159 people and destroyed more than 1,300 homes and business.

Fourteen years later, on May 22, 1960 an earthquake off the coast of Chile sent tsunami waves ripping through the Pacific at 442 miles an hour. It only took 15 hours before Hilo would see the 35 foot wave. Yanking building off their foundation and leaving 61 people dead, Hilo never recovered.

Thus when driving into Hilo and you are greeted with wide open spaces of green fields think about it for a moment. This once was the business center of Hilo. It once was a place for traders and fishermen. From Kamehameha Avenue, downtown to the shores of Wailoa River near Banyan Drive evidence of these massive unexpected waves can be seen and respected.

And so words to live by; never turn your back to the ocean. You never know when a huge wave may come to claim yet other victim. If the sea surges inland or retreats out to sea, quickly move to higher ground. That is a major indication of something coming your way. There is not a tsunami season. They can and usually will happen without warning. Pay attention to the evacuations signs posted around the coast. And don't stay where you are thinking it will be a great shot or awesome story to tell when you get home, the point is you might not make it home if a tsunami hits.