Hawaii Tribune-Herald from Hilo, Hawaii • 36

36-Hawaii Tribune Herald, Sunday, April 23, 1995 Tsunami Museum Is Important To TSUNAMI This Community MUSEUM Tom Okuyama, tsunami survivor, owner, Sure Save Supermarkets: "This is to educate people to respect the big wave. When you get a warning, you've got to take heed. That comes from a guy who was up in his office (at his market in Waiakea) with a radio I was fortunate. You have to get away. The wave goes 500 miles an hour.

You can't beat The museum will also help attract visitors. When tourists come here, it will give them another attraction to see. It enhances the whole package. Iwao Kitagawa, 1960 tsunami survivor, principal, I. Kitagawa "We didn't expect the wave to come.

I thought maybe another false alarm. It came from the downtown side. A policeman said, 'better get out of Then we saw a big wall of water and all we could do was For Hilo, it's the biggest disaster we've had. This museum will be a good way for people to remember. Many people lost their lives.

And it will help tourists understand Hilo. Now, when tourists come to Hilo, it's to see the flowers and visit the volcano. This will be an added attraction. It will also be valuable for our kids here in Hilo. Some of them don't know much about tsunamis.

It's been a long time since one struck. Robert Fujimoto, owner, HPM and Hilo Tsunami Museum board member: "It is a shocking experience when you first see your building gone. You know your building, your inventory. Boy, it's a shock. You know you can never imagine the power of water, when water is in movement.

To take a whole building, that's I think the idea of the museum is We have to educate the 0 "Let Us Not Forget" HILO TSUNAMI mUSEUm (Please Make Checks Payable to The HILO TSUNAMI MUSEUM) P.O. Box 806 Hilo, HI 96721 Yes, I would like to contribute to the Hilo Tsunami Museum! 0 NAME: 0 $1,00000 ADDRESS: $50000 CITY: 0 0 $25000 0 $10000 TELEPHONE: (Residence) 0 $2500 (Business) 0 Please send me information on the Tsunami Museum Membership. All contributions are tax deductible.