VNR: 20th anniversary of UH Mānoa Flood

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Contact:

Link to video and sound (details below): https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/WfQ3qTB2tp

*suggested VOSOT script below*

WHAT: October 30 marks the 20th anniversary of a devastating natural disaster that struck the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus in 2004. Ten inches of torrential rain that caused the Mānoa Stream to overflow and flood the campus. Hamilton Library and the Biomedical Sciences Building (Biomed) were the hardest hit and 30 other buildings were also impacted, causing an estimated $80 million damage.

WHO: Hundreds of volunteers (UH staff, faculty, students and community members) worked tirelessly to assist with the cleanup and recovery, including salvaging documents, maps, research, equipment, furniture and personal items. Financial support came from FEMA, state and federal leaders including the late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, and private donors.

WHY: To reflect on the flood's impact, resilience of the UH community and the extensive recovery process, 20 years later.

MORE INFORMATION:

• The Hamilton Library basement, housing government documents, maps and rare historical materials, was hardest hit, up to eight feet of muddy water flooding the area.
• Total value of the lost collection at Hamilton Library was approximately $34 million.
• In 2010, Hamilton Library fully reopened after extensive repairs, and 60-80% of the lost maps and documents were replaced through donations and acquisitions.
• The Biomedical Sciences Building lost millions in critical medical research samples, equipment, furniture and more.
• The Institute for Biogenesis Research in Biomed's first floor suffered damage but was the first to rebuild within six to eight months. Cumulina, the world's first cloned mouse and now housed at the Smithsonian, was among the scientific artifacts saved.
• UH News story on Hamilton Library's recovery
• UH News story on Biomed/JABSOM's recovery

Link to video and sound (details below): https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/WfQ3qTB2tp

B-ROLL: (1 minute, 55 seconds)

0:00-1:16 - Hamilton Library damages after the flood

1:16-1:37 - rebuilt library space at 2010 reopening event

1:37-1:55 - BioMed damages, Ryuzo Yanagimachi and cloned mouse being saved

SOUND:
Andrew Wertheimer, Library & Information Sciences Professor

(18 seconds)
When the flood happened, it seemed really all very sudden. The stream water is coming in really quickly and, we were getting on tables and one of the students luckily broke one of the windows here because that was the only way that we would have been able to get out.

(13 seconds)
It's still a little bit of a stressful memory, but it certainly bound us together and it showed us the power of the ʻaina and the power of libraries to, heal, recover and transform.

___

VOSOT Script

INTRO
October 30 marks the 20th anniversary of a devastating flood that swept through the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, causing $80 million in damages, especially Hamilton Library and the Biomedical Sciences Building.

Hundreds of volunteers, including UH and community members helped with cleanup and recovery, which took years.

VO

Andrew Wertheimer, Library and Information Sciences associate professor, was teaching a weekend class in the library when flood waters spilled into the basement.

SOT
(Andrew Wertheimer, Library & Information Sciences associate professor)

(1:56-2:14)
<"When the flood happened, it seemed really all very sudden. The stream water is coming in really quickly and, we were getting on tables and one of the students luckily broke one of the windows here because that was the only way that we would have been able to get out.">

VO
Hamilton Library fully reopened almost 6 years later after extensive repairs, recovering 60-80% of lost maps and documents.

The Institute for Biogenesis Research, heavily damaged in the Biomed building, was rebuilt within eight months. Cumulina, the world's first cloned mouse and now part of the Smithsonian collection, was among the artifacts saved.

The historic flood prompted changes to campus preparedness.

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