Tsunami response costs Honolulu taxpayers $330,000; mayor says it was well worth it

Tsunami response costs Honolulu taxpayers $330,000

HONOLULU — Although the tsunami that dealt a glancing blow to Hawaii on Saturday caused no physical damage or injuries, it did manage to hit Honolulu taxpayers’ pocketbooks.

But Mayor Mufi Hannemann says the $330,000 the city spent responding to the tsunami was well worth it.

He says the human and financial costs of failing to respond effectively to a natural disaster such as a tsunami would be horrendous.

The $330,000 figure comes from overtime costs for police and firefighters, as well as lost revenue from city facilities that were closed as the tsunami approached.

Hannemann says city departments are analyzing their performance to see if there is any way they can improve.

The tsunami was caused by the devastating earthquake in Chile and wasn’t as dangerous or big as experts first feared.

Information from: The Honolulu Advertiser, www.honoluluadvertiser.com