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Hawaii Remains Vulnerable to Quakes
"To generate a tsunami, you have to significantly deform the sea floor," Wolfe said. "The sea floor creates a bulge, and that effectively bulges the ocean above it, and the ocean doesn't like to be bulged so it tries to reach equilibrium."
Hawaii likely will continue to experience powerful earthquakes, such as Sunday's tremor, for thousands of years, Robertson said.
  A large boulder sits along the Queen Kaahumanu highway, Monday, Oct. 16, 2006, in Kona on the island of Hawaii where a 6-6 magnitude earthquake struck on Sunday. Twenty-four hours after Sunday's 6.7-magnitude quake, there were no reports of any deaths or serious injuries, and there were few signs of any major damage from the quake or several aftershocks, including one measuring 6.0. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (Mark J. Terrill - AP) 
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Hawaii's largest earthquake, a 7.9 magnitude shaker on April 2, 1868, caused 77 deaths and knocked down homes made of stone, wood or straw. Landslides buried homes, and a tsunami drowned dozens of victims.
"This was not a random or unexpected event _ these things happen in Hawaii," Wolfe said of the recent earthquake. "This is just part of what makes Hawaii special."
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On the Net:
U.S. Geological Survey: http:/
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: http:/
