Aloha Everyone,

You probably heard news of the earthquake which affected our islands today.
Yep, today we had the biggest one (earthquake) I've ever experienced in my life. Had a few in Africa but nothing like this. I was in the kitchen getting some breakfast and had poured a cup of coffee and put it on the counter and went into the pantry to get some granola - then I heard this low rumbling in the building and creaking and shaking. I went to the back doorway and stood in the doorway wondering what I'd do if the building started coming down around me. It's hard to judge how long that went on but it seemed like half a minute. In the midst of it the lights went out. I really didn't think it had been that violent until I turned around and saw half of my coffee was all over the counter.

Later I went to my bedroom and found the desk lamp tipped over and various papers scattered on the floor. We did have another somewhat less severe one about ten minutes. They are uncertain whether it was an aftershock or actual earthquake. People were in church for the 7 am Mass and everyone ran out of the church around the time of the responsorial psalm after the first reading. A few elderly were really frightened since they couldn't move out as quickly as others. Needless to say, the Mass did not go on and we cancelled the 9 am Mass too. We'll have the 5 pm evening Mass. People reported hearing a sharp crack in the roof of the church so I guess it will have to be inspected for safety. On Maui we had a few rock slides and a bridge out but nothing more. Statewide, the most severe damage was on the Big Island of Hawaii and the news said there were some minor injuries but no deaths - and there was some property damage. All airports in Hawaii were temporarily shut down for inspection. United cancelled all flights but the other airlines seem to be operating normally but with delays. The electricity was off from about 7:15 am until just about 2 pm. Phone service was down and the cell phone circuits were jammed. The epicenter was located about five miles off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii and there was no associated tsunami. Well, that's all for now. Just wanted to let you know that our island didn't fall into the sea with all on board - at least not this time.

All for now.

Jim