The first waves to hit Hawaii from a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake off Japan washed up onshore at Waikiki on Friday, with no initial reports of any damage.
Hawaii had ordered evacuations of coastal areas because of the threat of a tidal wave set off by yesterday’s earthquake in Japan as a tsunami warning was extended to the entire Pacific basin, except for the US mainland and Canada.
Meanwhile, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera called on the country to remain calm and go about its business as usual yesterday despite the tsunami alert.
Photo: Reuters
The main airports on at least three of the major islands — Maui, Kauai and Big Island of Hawaii — were shut down as a precaution and the US navy ordered all warships in Pearl Harbor to remain in port to support rescue missions as needed.
Authorities also ordered evacuations from low-lying areas on the US island territory of Guam in the western Pacific, where residents there were urged to move at least 15m above sea level and 30m inland.
Guam initially appeared to have emerged unscathed.
Photo: AFP
“So far no waves,” Lorilee Crisostomo said by telephone from Guam, about an hour after the tsunami was first due, though forecasters set a four-hour window in which a wave could hit the island.
Guam’s homeland security agency advised tourists in high-rise hotels to take shelter on the sixth floor and above.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the warning extended from Mexico down the Pacific coast of South America.
The tsunami warning issued late on Friday for Hawaii prompted civil defense officials to order all Hawaiian coastal areas evacuated by 2am, about an hour before the first wave was expected to hit the islands.
The evacuation zone included the famous Waikiki Beach, the main hotel and tourist hub in Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
Civil defense sirens blared statewide shortly before 10pm and police with bullhorns urged residents near shore to seek higher ground. Authorities also walked the beaches to awaken homeless people.
Lines for gasoline stretched for blocks and people rushed to stores to stock up on emergency supplies and water. Downtown Honolulu and Waikiki were packed with motorists trying to leave for higher ground and for shelters set up by the state.
To assist alarmed tourists from Japan thronging Waikiki, some local news broadcasters began speaking in Japanese, advising them to consult with their hotel desk clerks for guidance and instructions.
As Hawaiians braced for a tsunami, government geologists reported that a 4.6 magnitude earthquake was unleashed at about 11pm by the restive Kilauea Volcano, which has been spewing lava and triggering small seismic tremors since it rumbled back to life on Saturday last week.
Scientists said the latest temblor at Kilauea, centered on the volcano’s southern flank, posed no threat of a tsunami.
Ocean waves up to 2m above normal sea level were detected by deep-ocean gauges near Wake Island, Midway and Guam in the North Pacific, said Chip McCreary, a spokesman for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
The island of Kauai was expected to be the first hit in Hawaii because the tsunami was advancing from the west and would likely take 20 to 30 minutes to cross the entire state, McCreary said.
In Colombia and Peru, authorities also made evacuation plans as a precaution. The tsunami was expected to hit at least 20 countries around the Pacific Rim.
Chile’s National Emergency Office was to issue reports throughout the day to keep the public informed of the danger and there would be enough time to evacuate if necessary, Pinera said.
“We are prepared to announce with the necessary anticipation” measures to protect the coastal population, he said.
Just over a year ago, Chile was slammed by a tsunami in the early morning darkness. The tsunami on Feb. 27 last year devastated coastal communities after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake just off the central coast.
Yesterday, the first place to be affected would be Chile’s Easter Island, in the remote South Pacific about 3,500km east of the capital of Santiago, where the tsunami was expected to arrive at about 5pm.
Fishermen were already pulling in their boats and the island’s airport, which is 45m above sea level, was setting up an evacuation center for the more than 5,000 residents and tourists in Hanga Roa, the island’s only town.
“Hanga Roa is oriented to the northwest, toward Japan and exposed to the wave. We’re going to be there, just watching the arrival of the tsunami,” said Sergio Rapu, a former governor of the island.
Islanders have been alerted and plan to evacuate the entire town at 12pm — about five hours before the tsunami was expected to arrive.
“There are hotels exposed and also some of the restored monuments are very close to the ocean,” Rapu said. “We’ll be watching, always with curiosity. This one will be in the middle off the day so we’ll be able to see it.”
Colombia’s government has placed 16 low-lying towns and cities on alert for a possible evacuation, national disaster director Luz Amanda Pulido said. Colombia’s biggest coastal city is the port of Buenaventura, with 400,000 inhabitants.
Peruvian National Civil Defense Director Guillermo Alvizuri said authorities have ample time for evacuations if they are deemed necessary.
Peruvian navy Captain Atilio Aste said in a radio interview that any tsunami would arrive late yesterday along the entire coast.
Aste said the waves could be of low height, but officials are also not ruling out that they could be considerable.
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