After a massive 8.8 earthquake sparked tsunami fears in Hawaii, tourists were left behind after cruise ships departed the ports early. Footage of their maritime marooning has amassed over 170,000 views on TikTok.
The 8.8-magnitude quake, the strongest the world has witnessed in the last 14 years, struck Russia’s far east. Evacuation orders were given in Hawaii, Russia, Alaska, the US West Coast, and Japan. A Texas tourist documented the panic in her TikTok videos. “We made it to the port, but the ship is leaving. The ship is leaving and now we’re going to higher ground, and people are upset," the user with the account name @mandythecruiseplanner said.
As waves between 3.9 and 5.7 feet were reported off the Hawaiian Islands, cruise ships began to leave the port to move into deeper water, leaving many tourists on the shore.
In another video posted by @demifreeman, passengers frantically run along the dock to get on the ship before it sets sail.
“POV: tsunami in Hawaii, and your cruise is leaving without people. Actually insane. We are going to be in the middle of the tsunami in the ocean," the caption read.
{{/usCountry}}“POV: tsunami in Hawaii, and your cruise is leaving without people. Actually insane. We are going to be in the middle of the tsunami in the ocean," the caption read.
{{/usCountry}}Other tourists shared how clueless the people on ground were. "It’s crazy, it’s chaos, nobody knows what’s going on, our bus driver had no idea what’s happening," one of them said.