Parents reach son in Hawaii

Published 9:50 am Friday, March 11, 2011

Albert Leans Mike and Patty Billat said they have watched the events of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami threats closely because their son Chad lives on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Patty said they first talked to their son at 5 a.m. today on the phone.

“They seemed calm,” Patty said. “They’re not that far from the coast. They live at the base of a hill, and they were going to the top of the hill.”

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She said just after 7:30 a.m. they received a text message from Chad saying that he was still waiting for anything to hit.

“We’re just waiting, praying, hoping,” Patty said, noting that she and her husband were staying by their phone as they watched the events unfold.

By about 8 a.m., they talked to Chad again, and he told them that a 4-foot wave crashed into the coast near where he was.

They were waiting on top of the hill, and after the wave hit, some people started to go down.

She said Chad told her that the local people were calm and of the opinion that the first wave is usually the biggest.

“We’re relieved,” she said. “It’s good news to hear.”

Kauai is northwest of Oahu in the chain.