Just three days ago, I left for Hawaii to shoot a wedding I could not have been more excited to shoot. An amazing, fun couple with great friends and family, a beautiful location and four days in paradise doing my job and what I love most. It was going to be the perfect wedding and the perfect experience.
Thursday night, after having been in Kona the whole day exploring alone, I went to the airport to pick up Meg who flew into second shoot with me. While waiting for her flight to land I heard on the radio that a massive earthquake had hit Japan – not just any earthquake… the largest earthquake in the nation’s history. And now, Hawaii was gearing up for a tsunami that may hit the islands as a result of the massive disaster.
In the following two hours we learned that we were being evacuated from our hotel and that we’d have to find a place to stay on higher ground. It was scary and so surreal. Was this really all happening? Where would we go? The hotel was offering cots in their ballroom as an option for the evening, but we opted to take the pillows and blankets from our room and “camp out” in our rental Jeep instead. We headed inland and filled up on gas just in case- we waited in line for gas for about an hour and half… that’s when it really started to feel like a true disaster was looming. Everyone in the cars around us was on edge. We’d have these moments of disbelief, we couldn’t quite comprehend exactly what was happening, and then we’d fixate on the radio as they announced the latest from Japan: “A tsunami has been generated and we expect it to hit Hawaii at about 3am…”
The state of Hawaii was taking every precaution and the news made sure to announce all that could possibly happen to the islands as a result. Being from California, I’m not used to knowing a disaster is coming. We don’t have tornadoes or hurricanes… We have earthquakes, but you can’t predict those and therefore this preparation time was new to both of us.
We found a place on the side of the road to pull over and sleep for the night… along with so many others who had apparently been evacuated from nearby hotels. When we woke up in the morning, the news said the tsunami had hit the islands but left minimal damage, so we made the drive back to our hotel. We were relieved that much of what the news had said could happen to the islands never came to fruition… and because the news was so focused on keeping the people of Hawaii safe, we had heard little about what was happening in Japan.
A few hours later we learned that the wedding we were there to shoot was no longer going to happen- the hotel where the wedding was supposed to be was too damaged and all the guests were being directed to find other hotels. The room of the bride’s parents had been completely destroyed and filled to the ceiling with debris after an 11-foot wave crashed through the wall of windows leaving little left to be salvaged. At our hotel, the beach had disappeared and lounge chairs and trees had been tossed around everywhere like toys.
We turned on the t.v. and saw the devastation that had hit Japan. Utter shock. The images I saw rendered me speechless. The footage of the shaking, the tsunami swallowing entire towns and destroying everything in its path… the images of the cities after the fact… it all looked like CGI from a film, like it couldn’t be real. My heart sank for the people of Japan and for all those who have family and loved ones there. It is such a tragedy it’s incomprehensible.
The fact that a disaster of this magnitude can happen all of a sudden and create so much devastation is so frightening and has never felt so real to me- probably because I, even though it was in the tiniest of ways, was directly affected in a way I never had been before. The images of the aftermath are unbearable to watch and my heart aches for the people in Japan and for all those who have loved ones there who are suffering, and will continue to suffer the aftermath.
Times of tragedy have the ability to bring people together and offer the opportunity to exercise compassion for those suffering. They also have the ability to make us re-evaluate what is important in life and how we can never take anything for granted…. and how life can change in an instant. There was nothing that could have been done to prevent the earthquake and resulting tsunami from happening. However, we have the ability to help and rally for support in the recovery efforts. I have already made a donation to the American Red Cross and it was so easy to do. If you can, you can donate $10 by texting “Red Cross” to 90999. Or, you can donate through the Red Cross Web site.
Here’s a shot I got of the sunset in Kona just about 40 minutes before the earthquake hit Japan and about an hour before I heard the news. How quickly things can change…
