The Pacific Tsunami Museum of Hilo has signed an agreement with Ofunato Tsunami Museum of Iwate, Japan, to establish a sister tsunami museum relationship.
The Pacific Tsunami Museum of Hilo has signed an agreement with Ofunato Tsunami Museum of Iwate, Japan, to establish a sister tsunami museum relationship.
Representatives from the two museums met June 25 at the Pacific Tsunami Museum to sign a memorandum of agreement. The group from Japan included Kenji Saito, founder and managing director of Ofunato Tsunami Museum; Toshihiko Fukushima, auditor of Ofunato Tsunami Museum; and Masa Hayashi, who had just presented a proposed early tsunami warning system using drones at the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers Annual Conference.
“The two museums have almost identical mission statements, promoting tsunami education and awareness to saves lives,” said Marlene Murray, executive director of the Pacific Tsunami Museum. “We are thrilled and excited to have our museums join in this mutually beneficial partnership.
“One of the first things we will be working on is the exchange of survivor stories. There are many lessons to be learned from survivor stories and people may not always remember the science, but they remember the stories.”
The Pacific Tsunami Museum is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting tsunami awareness and education through a blend of science, history and personal accounts.
The museum is at 130 Kamehameha Ave. and open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 935-0926 for more information.