Earthquake powers down Hickam, Hawaii

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine
  • Air Force News Agency
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  People living and working on Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, had no power for 12 hours following an earthquake through Hawaii at 7:07 a.m. PDT Oct. 15.

Initially rated as a 4 point-plus earthquake, it was later upgraded to 6.6 point-magnitude.

According to local reports, the quake and its aftershocks caused mudslides and some damage to buildings. No fatalities have been reported so far. 

The quake's largest impact on local civilians and military members has been the loss of power across the island state. Local radio reports indicate that after the power was knocked out, the power grids were restarted one at a time. Some places across the state began receiving power within the hour, and full power was restored at Hickam AFB about 7 p.m.

Some people were evacuated from the Kona Community Hospital on "the big island" as a precaution because of structural damage the hospital received. But many places, like the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki, an Army run Department of Defense housing facility where some Airmen reside, reported no damage to its buildings.

"I had three tours (of military service) in Los Angeles," said Bill Reid, chief of the Air Force Hawaii News Bureau. "This was nothing like some of the bigger earthquakes (there.) This shook some houses and wasn't really that bad."

According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site, earthquakes are a common occurrence in the Hawaiian Islands. Usually they are small in nature. Earthquakes of large magnitude are rare. The last large quake that hit Hawaii was a 6.7-magnitude earthquake that injured six people and damaged 39 houses Nov. 16, 1983.

The largest recorded earthquake struck the Ka'u District on the island of Hawaii was a 7.9-magnitude April 2, 1868. It caused 77 deaths, 31 by a landslide and 46 from the resulting tsunami, according to the USGS Web site.