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From the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin: We did have a tsunami yesterday. City officials asked people to stay out of the water at the beach parks, but the siren system was not activated.

The effects were dramatic, especially in Haunama Bay, but there was very little damage.

Still, it was the largest tsunami in 40 years, and one wonders if any local businesses set a disaster recovery plan (DRP) in motion. The wave was generated by an 8+ magnitude eartquake in Japan, as shown in this graphic from the Advertiser.

USA: Tempers are getting short in Florida, as government officials and insurers deal with the massive damage. Over 640,000 people are without electricity. Ice and gas are in short supply. The elderly complain that help is hard to find. Meanwhile, a cattle farmer reported that his cows were flying during the height of the storm.

USA: Florida got spanked by Charley. This was a big one, a freaking nightmare of a hurricane that many residents were ill-prepared to handle. It got stronger and veered inland before it could hit Tampa, and a lot of people who thought they would be safe ended up in harm’s way.

These people need help yesterday, and I hope things get better for everyone there, including my family and friends, very soon.

Charley’s path was also rough: Fort Myers to Orlando to Daytona Beach. It could have been worse, but not by much. Andrew really concentrated his wrath on Dade County and Miami in 1992, by comparison.

A cynic might say that W is piling on the favors and attention to Florida, given what happened in 1992 (Hurricane Andrew) and 2000 (Hurricane Chad :). Whoever wins Florida will win the presidential election.

Of course, this article points out that Charley’s path also covers a lot of GOP territory. Kerry was leading W by 7 points in Florida last week.

It’s hard to ignore the political damage, but the storm’s damage has been a lot worse. I’m hoping that Florida gets a pass on hurricanes for the rest of the year: Charley was enough.

USA: My Florida and Georgia friends should buy some spam and candles. Load up on water. Bonnie and Charlie are coming your way.

Sports: Yahoo! News - Year-round warmth no drag on Lightning in their march toward the Stanley Cup: “An editorial in the Tampa Tribune on Thursday, responding to reports in what it called the ‘foreign’ media that Tampa is not a hockey town, insisted ‘the Bolts are the talk of the town.

‘So yes, we in Tampa may not be quite as obsessed with hockey as Canadians are, but don’t tell us - especially the 22,000 screaming fans attending each game - we don’t have spirit.’ ”