Honolulu: Tsunami waves swamped Hawaii beaches before dawn yesterday but didn't cause any major damage after devastating an earthquake-ravaged Japan and sparking evacuations as far away as the US western coast.
Kauai was the first of the Hawaiian islands hit by the tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. Water rushed ashore in Honolulu, swamping the beach in Waikiki and surging over a break wall in the world-famous resort but stopping short of the area's high-rise hotels.
Waves about 2 metres high were recorded on Maui, and a metre in Oahu and Kauai. Officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger, but a scientist at the tsunami warning centre said it didn't appear that they would cause major damage in Hawaii.
"But there is going to be some damage, I'm sure," said geophysicist Gerard Fryer in Hawaii.
Roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunami struck the state, which had hours to prepare.
Sirens sounded throughout the night, and residents in coastal areas were sent to refuge areas at community centres and schools while tourists were moved to higher floors of hotels. People waited in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators.
The tsunami, spawned by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan, slammed the eastern coast of Japan, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. It raced across the Pacific at 800 kilometres per hour — as fast as a jetliner — though the waves roll into shore at normal speeds.
US effects
Waves are predicted to hit the western coast of the United States between 11am and 11.30am EST (1600 and 1630 GMT) yesterday. Evacuations were ordered in parts of Washington and Oregon, and fishermen in Crescent City, California, fired up their crab boats and left the harbour to ride out an expected swell. A tsunami in 1964 killed 11 people in Crescent City.
President Barack Obama said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is ready to come to the aid of Hawaii and West Coast states as needed. Coast Guard cutter and aircraft crews were positioning themselves to be ready to conduct response and survey missions as soon as conditions allow.
It was the second time in a little over a year that Hawaii and the US West coast faced the threat of a massive tsunami.
A magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile spawned warnings on February 27, 2010, but the waves were much smaller than predicted and almost no damage was reported.
