Hilo Bay is sometimes called " the tsunami capital of the United States " . The bay 's topography steers tsunamis to Hilo from earthquakes in active areas such as Chile and the Aleutian Islands . The April 1 , 1946 , tsunami from the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake killed 96 people on Hilo Bay . On May 23 , 1960 , a tsunami originating from the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile killed 61 people in Hilo . After the February 27 , 2010 Chile earthquake , the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center caused sirens to sound and evacuations were ordered , but there were no injuries
2010 Chile earthquake
2010 Chile earthquake
Hilo Bay