Getty
"Oprah HAS NOT opened her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would allow coastal folks to reach higher ground quickly, locals tell me OPEN THE ROAD, @OPRAH," writes one social media user -- while the former talk show titan says that's just not true.
Misinformation appears to have spread amid the late afternoon/early evening tsunami fears in Hawai'i, with multiple reports on social media claiming that Oprah Winfrey refused to open a private road on the Hawai'i island of Maui to help facilitate those seeking higher ground. But it's a claim the former talk show queen is flatly denying.
"Oprah won't open her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would make it much easier for locals to get to higher ground," commented one user on X late Tuesday night, as noted by The Daily Mail.
It was among many users online making the claim, though it's not clear if they were simply feeding one another this information or if anyone had actually been turned away.
One user even posted it as "BREAKING" news, writing, "Oprah HAS NOT opened her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would allow coastal folks to reach higher ground quickly, locals tell me OPEN THE ROAD, @OPRAH."
Waiting for your permission to load the Twitter Tweet.
That user even shared side-by-side images they purported were from before the road was opened to after, saying the people had "FORCED" her to open it.
Oprah's team, however, has a different narrative, saying they were compliant and cooperative from the start. "As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to ensure the road was opened," said a spokesperson in a press statement, per Deadline. "Any reports otherwise are false."
"Local law enforcement are currently on site helping residents through 50 cars at a time to ensure everyone's safety," the statement continued. "The road will remain open as long as necessary."
Hulk Hogan's Ex Wife Linda 'Melting Down' Over His Death, Brings Up Cheating Scandal In Tribute
View StoryThe Maui Police Department confirmed Oprah's statement with an earlier advisory, per the outlet, where it announced, "Oprah’s road is open to get Upcountry."
The move was necessitated after the US Geological Survey reported an 8.8 magnitude earthquake just 8.2 miles southeast of Petropaflovsk-Kamchatka, Russia at around 4:24 p.m. PT, per The New York Post.
That blast was reportedly the sixth-ever strongest earthquake ever recorded -- the largest in 14 years -- and it sent a wave of tsunami warnings across both sides of the ocean. Russia reportedly saw waves as high as 13 feet in some regions after the blast, while NBC News reports that the Klyuchevskoy volcano in Kamchatka erupted in response to the earthquake, according to the Kamchatka Branch of Geophysical Survey.
As residents in Hawai'i made their way to higher ground, the water reportedly began to recede around 8:20 p.m. local time (11:20 p.m. PT) before surging upwards to five feet in Kahului, per CNN, causing local flooding.
Brittany Cartwright Says 'Extremely Aggressive' Jax Taylor Threw Her Into Rose Bushes
View StoryAt 10:40 p.m. local time, the warning was downgraded to an advisory, with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporting the "worst part of it" was over, per the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. There were additional evacuation reports released for people in Japan and the United States West Coast.
According to People, citing NSW Los Angeles, the tsunami waves reached the California coast shortly after 3 a.m. local time, with a 3.6-foot wave in Crescent City the highest recorded for the state. Tsunami waves were also recorded along the Oregon and Washington coasts.
While the worst is reportedly over for all of the United States, including Hawai'i, according to NBC News, tsunami activity is expected to continue along the coastal regions, with "rapid tidal level swings creating hazardous conditions" for some time. No deaths have been reported.
