What will become known as 'The 2010 Pacific Tsunami'

Tonight, 3:17 AM Pakistan time (5:18 PM U.S. ET) I must be one of millions glued to their laptops and television sets waiting for footage of Hilo, Hawai’i. For the past hour or so we’ve been expecting- with bated breath- news of first waves, approximated to be anywhere from 6 feet to 8 feet plus according to CNN to hit the Island. These waves have been triggered by a devastating earthquake off the coast of Chile, South America, which measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale.

I am so freaked out by all this anticipation; I cannot fathom what must be going through the minds of people at the Island right now. Most of them might get out of this safe, though. Thanks to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, created in 1949 and based in Hilo, warning signals have been sounded and people have been evacuated.

Though not the most rare of natural disasters Tsunamis are definitely one of the most powerful, far-reaching and downright scariest. The term was made a household name after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami which took the lives of over 200,000 people. In the past century, however, the majority have been recorded in the Asia–Pacific region, particularly striking the country of Japan.

A Tsunami can be generated when a large amount of water is displaced in the ocean, which can occur for a number of reasons, including but not limited to, shifting of the Earths plates, underwater landslides or earthquakes. An easy-to-understand description of how it happens can be seen here.

You may not know that this is not the first Tsunamis to hit American soil. More specifically, this will be the third Tsunami to hit Hilo, Hawai’i.

Hilos' Tsunamis
Date	Location of Earthquake	Magnitude of Earthquake	Height of tsunami	Time Lapse between Earthquake & Tsunami	Death toll
April 1, 1946	Near Aleutian Islands	7.8	14 meters	4.9 hours	165 people
May 23, 1960	Off the coast of Chile	9.5	10.7 meters	14.8 hours	61 people
February 27, 2010	Off the coast of Chile	8.8	?	?	?

Hilo is the second largest city in the state of Hawaiʻi with a thriving tourism sector and its being hoped that water won’t cause too much of a damage to the infrastructure. But this might not be the only place to be hit; the last Tsunami which affected Hilo also had an impact on both Alaska and Japan.

It's truly remarkable how connected this entire planet is. Thanks to the internet, skype and twitter, I'm now able to sit halfway around the world and get minute by minute description of what's going on.

I think there will be no sleep for me tonight. As I type, the water level at Hilo is rising and I pray that damage to the entire Pacific Basin is kept to a minimum this week. We had not yet gotten over Haiti when bad news came from Chile and now this. 

Our prayers from Pakistan are with you all; even though we might not be able to assist financially, please do know that we are with you in spirit and hoping for the best.