OBAMA CERTIFICATE RECORDS DESTROYED BY TSUNAMI

FEBRUARY 27, 2010, 8:02 P.M. ET

Honolulu, HI (BS News Network)

The massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Chile early Saturday and sent tsunami warnings throughout the Pacific region caused an unexpectedly related disaster in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, according to Governor Linda Lingle and Hawaii Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo in a televised news conference.

For the most part Hawaii escaped major tsunami damage. Lingle gave an all-clear sign to residents and tourists who had evacuated the coast. Tsunami surges of six to 12 inches in height hit the "Big Island" of Hawaii beginning at 11:38 a.m. local time, 34 minutes later than oceanographers previously forecast, said Bill Hanson, administrative officer with the Hawaii County Civil Defense.

However, during the press conference Lingle and spokesperson Okubo announced that direct tsunami damage destroyed critical vital health department records, as 6 inches of tsunami waves pounded the Honolulu shoreline.

“We regret to report that despite the valiant efforts of the Hawaii County Civil Defense and the various backup systems we put into place, all records regarding the birth certificate of President Obama have been destroyed by this tragedy,” Okubo reported.

When asked about the details, Okubo said that the destruction of the records was still under the “debris of an investigation” and may not be conclusive for some time.

Civil Defense officials conducted a live drill which included evacuation sirens and the removal of state employees from buildings normally closed on Saturday.

“When that siren sounded, I can tell you, I got the hell out of there,” said Bukata Hunu, a Honolulu resident and janitor at the Department of Health records storage building. “When I got back to the building after the emergency was over, the locked vault where [Obama’s] birth certificate is kept [sealed] was broken into and someone said the records had been destroyed by the tsunami.”

When Hunu was asked who told him the records were destroyed and if he saw the destruction for himself, he said no, and officials had sealed off the area again, pending a further investigation.

“This was incredible. Who knew this kind of disaster would happen?” said Hunu.

Okubo was asked if there were any positive aspects to this destructive act of nature. “Well, we are hoping that this news will put an end to the 50 to 80 e-mails and letters we get per day asking the Department to show [Obama’s] vault copy [of his birth certificate]. Maybe the Birthers will get off our backs now.”