Tsunami in Hilo Bay - February, 2010

*First tsunami starts at 1:00. Using a tape measurer a week later I determined that some of the rocks submerged in the Wailuku River were more than 6ft above sea level. If the 2 to 3ft trough that preceded many of the waves is included, the total wave heights can be assumed to have reached 8 to 9ft in the back of the Wailuku estuary.

If you can't tell in the footage, I broke the law in a thousand ways to make this film. My mom, aunt and I were the only ones we could see in the tsunami evacuation area. All of the parkland around us was created after a tsunami in 1960 leveled all of the buildings in the center of the city. I am very aware that what I did was not safe. If a 35ft wave were to have unexpectedly come in, I could have easily been killed. Even so, I live to see incredible displays of natures power like this. Much like driving a race car or parachuting from an airplane, it's a passion that inherently comes with certain risks.

If you would like to use any of my footage, contact me at maximilianhagen@gmail.com.