The tsunami which struck the shores of
the Hawaiian Islands on the morning of
April 1, 1946, was the most destructive, and
one of the most violent, in the history of the Islands. More than 150 persons were killed principally by drowning, and at least 161 others were injured. Property damage
reached about $25,000,000.
The wave attack on Hawaiian shores was
far from uniform. The height and violence
of the waves at adjacent points varied greatly,
and not always in the manner which would
have been expected from superficial inspection
and a study of the existing literature on
tsunamis. Therefore, a detailed study of the
effects of the tsunami has been made, in an
effort to understand the observed variations
and in the hope that the principles established may help lessen the loss of life and
property in future tsunamis. Space is not
available in the present short paper to discuss
findings in detail, or even to present all the
evidence for all the conclusions. These matters
will be treated in detail in a longer paper
(Shepard, Cox, and Macdonald, in preparation)
