USGS Circular 1187. "Surviving a Tsunami- Lessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan" 12/31/59 via Wikimedia. Public Domain.
A heavy silence and the smell of rotting food oppressively smothers the street you are walking down. But then, a single poignant cry splits the air. You manage to raise your heavy head to look for the source of the noise, but only rubble from the once bustling town meets your eye. Finally, camouflaged with layers of grime you spot a child sitting alone in the living room of her house- a skeletal house with only the barest suggestion of once having walls. On May 23, 1960, a tsunami devastated the city of Hilo, the largest city in Hawaii county. The tsunami claimed 61 people and millions of dollars in property damages. The economy completely crashed and it seemed a completely hopeless endeavor to build it up again.
But then, the University of Hawaii had a brilliant idea. Mauna Kea, one of the dormant volcanos, is high in elevation, has extremely dry air, and is untouched by light pollution. It is a holy land the ancestors of Hawaii used to be connected with the stars and heavens and is perfect for astronomy. Therefore, Hawaii, in an attempt to lure astronomers and investors leases pieces of their holy Mauna Kea for $1 a year. Well it worked- astronomers came and ended up building 11 telescopes on Mauna Kea, but the economic return expected never came through. Unfortunately, most of the positions were outsourced to universities that invested in the telescopes- leaving Hawaii with the same poor economy and a bitter attitude towards the telescope building westerners.
Then TMT came to Mauna Kea. They obtained a building permit in April of 2013 from the Hawaiian Board of Land and Natural Resources. In October of 2014, TMT had a dedication and groundbreaking ceremony. But, protesters came to crash the party singing and chanting prayers to protect their holy land.
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