FOXBORO, Mass. — Half a world away, it sounds like everyone on the continental United States was far more worried than the Hawaiians who were threatened by February's major tsunami warning.
After an earthquake rocked Chile — registering an 8.8 on the Richter scale — the Hawaiian Islands were in the direct path of a possible tsunami, and the stream of news coverage brought back disturbing memories of the disastrous tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.
But fear not, said Patriots long snapper Jake Ingram, who was in Hawaii during the February warning.
"I was on O'ahu," Ingram said. "When the tsunami warning was going on, everybody from the mainland was calling me and texting me what was going on out there, but a lot of us were just kind of hanging out like, 'What's going on? Let's see what happens.' As soon as the tsunami warning was done — it was like 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 — me and my friend, Lance, and a couple of my other buddies were out on a boat. It was nothing, though. It was minor."
Coincidentally, Patriots linebackers Rob Ninkovich and Eric Alexander left Hawaii the day before the tsunami warning, which amounted to some taller waves but little else.
Ingram said people were pretty nonchalant about the tsunami warning, just taking it all in and trying to figure out what the fuss was all about. When it comes to taking up residence in Hawaii, these things are the bad that comes with the great. Ingram said it had been years since the last big tsunami warning, and there's the occasional hurricane warning that shakes up the island.
"Oh yeah, it would have took us out, but it worked out all right," Ingram said. "I mean, there was some movement in the water, and I'm sure you guys saw that on the news. But nothing major. Everybody was back in the water by 1 o'clock.
"Luckily, nothing too bad actually hit, which was awesome, knock on wood. I feel like there really wasn’t any kind of panic on the island. I mean, I think a lot of people were watching it, like when is this thing coming, not really knowing what to expect, and it worked out all right."
