The Tsunami Countdown

THIRTEEN

10:05 a.m.

1 Hour and 17 Minutes to Wave Arrival Time

Realizing she could do nothing more for the Russian tour group until the interpreter arrived in about an hour, Rachel had turned her full attention to the most important event taking place at the hotel: the governor’s veterans brunch. The event had been under way for five minutes, right on time despite the ramp problem. Rachel stood at the back watching Governor Elizabeth Kalama give her speech, ready to make sure any potential issues were resolved quickly and quietly.

Because Rachel’s job was all about communication, she carried a walkie-talkie and cell phone at all times. The walkie-talkie was for in-hotel communications with the staff, and the cell phone connected her with external vendors and clients. Either one could go off at any time. This time it was her cell phone. She had it set to vibrate mode so that it wouldn’t interrupt the speech from the dais.

She pulled it from her belt and looked at the number. It was Kai’s cell phone. She sighed and replaced it on her belt, letting it go to voice mail.

After another few seconds her cell phone’s pager feature went off. She picked it up again and looked at the number typed in the display, expecting to see Kai’s cell phone number again. Instead, she saw 999. Their emergency code.

She called him back immediately.

“Kai?” she whispered. “What’s going on?”

“Rachel, it’s Brad.”

“Brad? Where’s Kai?”

“He’s busy. He wanted you to know that he just issued a tsunami warning.”

“Oh, no! Right now?”

“Yeah, you should be getting the official warning in a few minutes.”

“Oh my God! I’m at a brunch in our ballroom. The governor’s here.”

“Wait a sec.” She heard Brad in the background say, “She’s got the friggin’ governor with her.”

Kai’s voice came on the line.

“It’s me, hon.”

“So, a tsunami is really coming?”

“We don’t know for sure yet, but it looks like it.”

“Jesus! When is it supposed to get here?”

“In a little more than an hour.”

“An hour? You said that a tsunami from Alaska would take five hours to get here.”

“It’s not from Alaska.”

“A local one? The Big Island?” Rachel knew that a tsunami caused by landslides or earthquakes in the Hawaiian Islands would take less than forty-five minutes to reach Oahu.

“No, somewhere in the Pacific. Listen, Rachel, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon. Here’s Brad again. Be safe.”

A raspy sound came through as the phone got passed back.

“It’s me.”

“Hey, Brad,” Rachel said, “I’ve got to get things in motion here.”

“Wait, Rachel! Does Lani have a cell phone?”

Rachel just assumed Teresa had already been warned to take Lani and Mia to safety.

“Why?” she said. “What’s wrong? Is she okay? Where is she?”

“Slow down. I don’t know. I tried calling Teresa, but all I get is her voice mail. I was hoping Lani had a cell phone.”

“No. She’s going to get a new one for her birthday.”

“Well, I’m sure they’ll hear the sirens and get to high ground.”

“Brad, make sure they’re okay. Please? I won’t have time. I’ve got to get the hotel ready.”

“Don’t worry. I got it covered.”

Brad sounded confident, but then, he always sounded confident. She just had to trust him, so she hung up and turned her attention to her duties.

As the governor continued her speech, Rachel weaved her way through the tables of disabled vets. Because the Grand Hawaiian was a state-of-the-art Waikiki resort, it had a well-thought-out tsunami warning plan. The hotel ran drills every three months to familiarize the employees with the procedures in case of a tsunami. Rachel had been through two of them.

Procedure called for the first, second, and third floors to be evacuated and for all guests to be moved to a level higher than that. The ballroom was on the sixth floor, so she wouldn’t have to evacuate anyone at the brunch.

She spotted the governor’s assistant, William Kim, with whom she had coordinated the banquet. He had been an annoyance to her for a week now, changing every detail of the governor’s appearance five times. Giving him this news wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Mr. Kim,” she said in a low whisper, “I need to talk to you. Right now.”

She pulled him to the side of the room.

“What is it? I’m missing the governor’s speech.”

“A tsunami might be coming.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. The tsunami warning should come out any minute. You have to tell the governor.”

“In the middle of her speech?”

“Don’t you think it might be something she’d like to know as soon as possible?”

“So the tsunami warning hasn’t been issued?”

“It has. We just don’t have the official announcement.”

“Then how do you know—”

“My husband told me. He’s the—”

“Your husband?” he said with a snotty tone. “Mrs. Tanaka, the governor is running for the U.S. Senate next year, and there are some very important donors in the room. If I interrupt her, and you’re wrong—”

“Please, Mr. Kim, I’m not an idiot. As I was trying to say, my husband is the assistant director of Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.”

“Fine. Come back when we get the actual tsunami warning. The governor can at least finish the speech.”

“Look, I don’t have time for this, and neither does the governor.” With that, she strode onto the stage with Kim following her. He stopped short of holding her back, not wanting to make a scene.

As Rachel reached the podium, she thought she could hear the faint peal of a siren through the ballroom’s insulated walls. She put her hand lightly on the governor’s shoulder. The governor stopped her speech to look at who was interrupting her and put her hand over the microphone.

“Yes?” she said. “Who are you?”

“Governor, I tried to stop her—” Kim began.

Rachel talked over him. “Governor, I’m Rachel Tanaka, the hotel manager. A tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii.”

“What?”

“Ma’am, my husband is Kai Tanaka, the—”

“Kai Tanaka? From the PTWC?”

“That’s right, Ma’am. You know him?”

“I met him four months ago during a tsunami drill.”

“Governor, he told me that there’s a good likelihood that a tsunami is heading this way and will be here in a little more than an hour.”

“An hour?” Kim said, startled. Then he went on the defensive. “Governor, she didn’t tell me that—”

“Be quiet, William,” the governor said. The hush of the crowd was starting to give way to murmurs. “Mrs. Tanaka, you’re sure about this?”

Kai might be new to the job, but he was one of the smartest people Rachel had ever met. He wouldn’t have issued the warning if he didn’t have a good reason.

“Ma’am, my husband knows tsunamis. If he says there might be one coming, then we need to get ready.”

“I agree. William, get my car. I’ll tell the audience what’s happening and then turn it over to Mrs. Tanaka.”

“Certainly, Ma’am,” Kim said, and hurried off the stage. If he’d had a tail, it would have been between his legs. Rachel stayed on the dais.

The governor turned back to the crowd with a somber face, and the audience fell silent immediately.

“I apologize for the interruption. I have just been informed that a tsunami warning has been issued for the Hawaiian Islands.” A buzz ran through the crowd, and the governor raised her hands to quiet them. “Now, as you might have guessed, this will require me to cut the speech off here so that I may attend to the emergency—”

Rachel’s walkie-talkie squawked to life, and she stepped off the dais to answer it. It was Max.

“Rachel, are you there?”

“Max, did we get a tsunami warning?”

“It just came in a few seconds ago. How did you know?”

“That’s not important. Get the book out and start following the emergency procedures. Make sure you notify the staff first. They need to keep the guests from panicking. I’ve already informed the governor.”

“Got it.”

“Hopefully, it’s just a false alarm, so let’s make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. I’ll be down when I can.”

“But—” Max sputtered.

“The governor’s wrapping up. I’ve got to go. Just keep calm.” She replaced the walkie-talkie and stepped back onto the dais next to the governor.

“… so I urge you to stay where you are, and Mrs. Tanaka, the hotel manager, will see to it that you are well taken care of. Let us all pray that this is a false alarm so that we can continue with our holiday remembrances at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery later this afternoon. I hope to see you there. God bless us and God bless the United States of America.”

The crowd applauded as the governor left with her gaggle of assistants, and Rachel took the podium. Hundreds of concerned faces looked up at her. She paused to make sure she could keep her voice calm and professional.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Rachel Tanaka, the hotel manager. This tsunami warning is an unfortunate development, but we’ll try to do our best to make you comfortable until this is over. This hotel has been designed with the latest in tsunami safety design elements, and you are more than sixty feet above the ground here. Of course, you are free to leave if you desire, but we recommend that you stay where you are, enjoy our hospitality, and wait for the all-clear to sound. We will inform you about further developments as we get them. So sit back, relax, and I’m sure this will all be over quickly.”