Ongoing nationally televised debates along with the posturing for votes in state party caucuses provide a lively backdrop as we mark the fifth anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011.
The devastation in Japan and elsewhere in the Pacific from Alaska to Chile, including coastal areas in Hawaii, should neither be forgotten nor masked by the current political frenzy to find a presidential candidate who can win in November, or by other issues we face at home such as rail and homelessness.
But, I imagine that the fifth anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami will pass below radar, so to speak.
I’ll be surprised to find much coverage in the media. After all, many of us have moved on and would opt not to revisit those incredible scenes of the earthquake (measured at Moment 9.0 magnitude) shaking Tokyo and other urban areas and the resulting tsunami, which literally swallowed up Japan’s northeastern coastlines and cities such as Sendai. We helplessly witnessed those tragic scenes via live television while being fully aware that damage to our own coastal areas would occur in the early morning hours of March 11.
But, politics and disasters like the Tohoku events make for strange bedfellows. Disasters occur at the most inconvenient times, bringing out the best and worst in elected officials. Indeed, the disaster came as an unplanned, wake-
up call for the newly formed Abercrombie administration.
Fortunately, the governor and his first chief of staff sat with us at the Diamond Head State Emergency Operating Center for two hours on the weekend before his swearing in on the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace.
I remember that Saturday morning briefing Gov. Neil Abercrombie on his emergency powers and duties under state statutes. It was a step in the right direction, but, certainly, not enough.
More important, I vividly remember the night of March 10, 2011. The governor arrived about 8 p.m. Most of his Cabinet was already there crammed in the small situation room of the Emergency Operating Center, dressed in casual, come-as-you-are attire. Having a slight edge over his contemporaries, the new director for the Department of Defense wore his Hawaii Air Guard flight jumpsuit and sat quietly at the corner of the conference table while taking copious notes on the situation. This was their first real test and not a drill. The atmosphere in the Birkhimer Tunnel was tense.
It was a long night and a longer sleepless day that followed but we managed to get through it. Lucky for me the Dems were in, from governor to the county mayors.
Not only were these elected officials and politicians friendly to each other, they were able administrators who knew when to listen, when to speak, and when to shut up. This was not always the case among our elected polity in previous disasters.
Perhaps as we pause on the fifth anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami to pray for the souls of the 17,000 dead, for the survivors, for a remarkable recovery, and for resiliency of the Japanese people, we should look at the presidential, gubernatorial, and mayoral candidates on the national and local scale for some clue as to their ability to lead during crises.
Rarely does anyone really question whether or not the candidates have the ability to lead in disasters. The focus, instead, dwells on their ability to make themselves look good and heard in front of television cameras.
Think about it.
Ed Teixeira, of Waimea on Hawaii island, served as Hawaii’s civil defense chief from 1999 to 2011; he is a consultant and adjunct instructor.
