Abstract

The Big Island of Hawaii has quite some history when it comes to geologic hazards. These hazards have posed a threat to many of the people who used to or currently live on the island. This study was conducted to determine the severity of volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and earthquakes hazards on the Big Island of Hawaii. By using ArcMap, we can understand what areas pose the most threat to a geologic hazard. Existing data was provided by many government GIS related websites (e.g., Hawaii Office of Planning, 2019; U.S. Geological Survey, 2019; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019).

On the Island of Hawaii, tsunamis seem to only affect a couple of miles inland, due to the topography of the island. The ‘capital’ of tsunamis in the United States is in Hilo due to the frequency of tsunamis that hit Hawaii with the low-relief surrounding Hilo Bay making it prone to tsunamis (Lin, 2013). Figure 1 shows zones of evacuation in Hilo for tsunamis

The Big Island of Hawaii of course is formed by several volcanoes, one of them being the most active volcano in the world, Kilauea. The eruptions of Kilauea have made the world news several times in the past decade. The most recent eruption was in 2018 when more than 3000 people were evacuated (Berke, 2019).

Additional hazards include earthquakes, especially where Mauna Loa and Kilauea are situated, with small earthquakes occurring daily (U.S. Geological Survey, 2019). Creating maps showing the severity of geologic hazards can help us improve regulation codes, future planning of buildings, and keep the people of Hawaii safe. Figure 2 for example shows the severity of lava flow hazards in Hawaii.