On Dec. 21, 1812, a wave arrived at Ho’okena on the west coast of the Big Island and became the first recorded tsunami event, NOAA said. Since then, more than 160 tsunamis have been confirmed in the Hawaiian Islands, according to NOAA and other scientific papers. Nine of those tsunamis have caused 294 deaths and more than $625 million in damages.

David Sun-Miyashiro was at home on the 31st floor of a Honolulu apartment building, high above danger, when his phone alerted him to a possible tsunami from a massive earthquake far across the Pacific Ocean.