NextSharkNextShark.com

‘Historic’ waves as high as 20 feet tall send wedding guests in Hawaii running for cover

‘Historic’ waves as high as 20 feet tall send wedding guests in Hawaii running for cover

July 19, 2022
SHARE
Massive waves sent wedding guests running for cover as water aggressively knocked over decor and stands in Hawaii over the weekend.
As seen in a video, waves — some reported to be over 20 feet high — crashed a wedding at Hulihe’e Palace in Kailua-Kona, wiping out tables and a bar but miraculously leaving the food and wedding cake unharmed. 
“It definitely did not stop the party,” assured the groom in a clip taken after. “We definitely kept going and if anything it just made everybody closer.”
Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources claimed that the swells were “the highest south shore surf in more than 25 years.”
In a separate video, waves can be seen crashing over two-story buildings, soaking everyone in its path. 
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter

A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.

Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.

Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.

“It’s flooding everywhere,” says the person filming.  
Chris Brenchley, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Honolulu reported that some waves reached “20 feet, 20 feet-plus even…getting on the level of historic.”
View post on Twitter
Lifeguards and rescue crews conducted at least 1,960 rescues on the island of O’ahu alone over the weekend. 
Unlike previous reports, Hurricane Darby was not the major cause of the waves. 
Instead, Brenchley explained that a warming planet was to blame.
“The most direct type of impact that we can use with climate change is the sea level rise. Any time you add just even small amounts of water, you raise that sea level just a bit.”
Earlier this year, a study from Japan’s University of Tsukuba warned that East Asia could be flooded by “atmospheric rivers” that would bring an “unprecedented extreme rainfall” if climate change persisted. 
Rising sea levels have also been an increasingly big issue in countries like China with a large coastal region, where waters had risen 82 millimeters higher on average from 1993 to 2011.  
 
Featured Image via Guardian News
MOST READ
    HAPPENING NOW
      Jane Nam

      Jane Nam ABD Phd Candidate in Social & Political Philosophy, currently located in Atlanta, GA. Interested in topics of human experience, freedom, responsibility, and love.

      SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

      RELATED STORIES FROM NEXTSHARK

      Support
      NextShark's
      Journalism

      Many people might not know this, but NextShark is a small media startup that runs on no outside funding or loans, and with no paywalls or subscription fees, we rely on help from our community and readers like you.

      Everything you see today is built by Asians, for Asians to help amplify our voices globally and support each other. However, we still face many difficulties in our industry because of our commitment to accessible and informational Asian news coverage.

      We hope you consider making a contribution to NextShark so we can continue to provide you quality journalism that informs, educates, and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for supporting NextShark and our community.

      © 2023 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.