Olin Lagon: Credit Hawaiʻi’s Tectonics For Teaching Us About Tsunami

Sometimes you make a connection that floors you. This is one of them. In July 2025 I was at a conference at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. Former Governor John Waiheʻe was speaking, and he did what he often does. He had the room leaning in as he wove together hard-won insights from decades of leadership. He is an incredible storyteller. And then our phones buzzed, well, at least most of ours did. Mine didnʻt, but it became apparent something was going on. Then mine buzzed too. Tsunami warning. Leave now. You are in a danger zone. This is not a drill. Or something like that. I thought this might be another false alarm. Most of us remember the warning we got in January 2018 that a missile was on the way. You could see people Googling to verify the alert. This one was real. After a few awkward minutes, the room settled and people started to talk story. A minority of the group decided to ride it out upstairs at the resort.

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