On September 29,2009, an earthquake rocked Samoa and created a tsunami surge which hit the Big Island. The forecast called for “possible sea level changes” which did indeed effect the state. However, for the most part, these sea level changes were minor and largely went unnoticed throughout the state. Keauhou Bay, where I work, seems to have been one of the exceptions.
With my iPhone, I managed to get some photos of the changes during the largest of the surges that hit us, which occurred at about 3:15pm.
These first couple of photos show the water drop as it recedes before the largest wave comes in:
