By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Rush: Residents in Hawaii hit the supermarkets in pani buying sprees as they prepare for the imminent tsunami waves caused by a massive earthquake off the coast of Japan this morning
4.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Hawaii ahead of waves
First waves expected to hit island at 3am local time
Warning issued for North American coast from California to Alaska
Panic buying at supermarkets and fuel stations
Tsunami waves could submerge low lying islands including Guam
Hawaii was put on 'red alert' today as the enormous earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan was expected to cause tsunamis across the Pacific Ocean.
The 8.9 magnitude quake has devastated Japan after it struck off its north eastern coast this morning and sent 30ft high waves sweeping through the city.
Repercussions of the quake are expected to hit Hawaii today at around 3am local time as powerful tidal waves rip through the ocean.
Thousands of residents have been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas in Hawaii and Guam that could be obliterated by waves that are higher than them.
Urgent: Workers in the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre put Hawaii on warning as they track the tsunami waves that have devastated Japan today
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has widened its tsunami warning to include Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific Ocean.
Warning were issued yesterday at 9:31 p.m. HST. Sirens were sounded shortly afterward in Honolulu alerting people in coastal areas to evacuate. The first waves were expected to arrive at 2:55 a.m. HST Friday.
Similar warnings were issued for states on the entire west coast of America that join the Pacific ocean.
States stretching from California to Alaska have been warned that they could be hit by the tsunami waves that are gathering pace through the ocean.
The United States' National Weather Service (NOAA) issued the Tsunami warning earlier today following Japan's devastating earthquake.
'A Tsunami has been generated which is expected to cause damage,' NOAA said in its latest alert, published at 1:35 am PST (0535 GMT).
'Persons in Tsunami warning coastal areas should move inland to higher ground,' NOAA said.
The warnings affect coastal areas in the US states of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.
'Tsunami warnings mean that a Tsunami with significant widespread inundation is imminent or expected ... Widespread dangerous coastal flooding accompanied by powerful currents is possible and may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival,' NOAA said.
The warnings also include Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Central and South America. The coast of North America is not included in the warning.
Tsunami warnings are issued due to the imminent threat of a tsunami. Huge tidal waves could devastate the island which lacks some of the infrastructure to cope with major natural disasters.
Last night, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii as aftershocks and tremors from the quake that hit Japan reverberated around the world.
Spinning: A menacing whirlpool rages near a port in Oarai, Japan, following the earthquake
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damages from the quake that hit the Big Island about 30 miles southeast of Hilo just before 11 pm yesterday (0900 GMT Friday).
The first waves from the tsunami were expected to hit about 3 am Friday (1300 GMT).
In Hawaii, hundreds of terrified residents were panic buying today as they braced themselves for the waves to strike.
People stocked up on vital supplies such as food and water while drivers filled their cars with petrol in case they needed to out-run the waves in their cars, as happened in Japan.
In Japan, the powerful quake sent ten-metre waves surging inland and caused fires in Tokyo. AT least 36 people are so far feared dead in the country but the death toll could rise.
Before the storm: A driver fills up her tank as concerned residents in Hawaii brace themselves for potentially cataclysmic waves expected to hit the country today
Hawaii and the many other low lying islands around the state will be braced for similar destruction when the waves hit later today.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that the tsunami is currently higher than some Pacific islands which it could wash over.
Chip McCreary, a tsunami warning centre director, said tsunami waves have the potential to swamp coastal areas of all Hawaii's islands.
'What these waves look like is an elevation of sea level, where the sea level will rise above its normal level and stay high for 10 or 15 minutes before it starts to recede,' he said.
'As a result of this, in a tsunami wave, that water can flood the coast line and be a hazard to people and buildings on the coast.'
The warnings cover an area stretching the entire western coast of the United States and Canada from the Mexican border to Chignik Bay in Alaska. In Alaska, a dozen small communities along the Aleutian Island chain were on alert.
Gridlock: A traffic jam stretches for several blocks as people queue for fuel and vital supplies in Hawaii
Leaving: Hotel guests from the Moana Surfrider hotel in Honolulu cling to their possessions after being evacuated in the early hours of the morning
'Everyone in that area knows, when you feel it, move - don't wait for a siren,' said John Madden, director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The largest affected town is Unalaska, population about 4,000.
Residents in coastal areas across the Pacific from Hawaii to Guam were ordered to evacuate to shelters and higher ground.
In Hawaii's tourist district of Waikiki, visitors were being moved to higher floors of their hotels. Meanwhile, residents were waiting in long queues stocking up on petrol, bottled water, canned food and generators.
'We're preparing for the worst and we're praying for the best,' said a spokesman for the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management.
'Tsunami waves, because of their long length, they wrap around our islands very efficiently,' he said.
Waves: Tsunami waters flood the streets in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, after the 8.9 quake struck this morning
Powerful: Terrified shoppers at a bookstore in Sendai, northern Japan run for cover as the quake shakes buildings
Disaster: Ships are capsized by the killer waves that struck the port of Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture today
Readings have come in from deep ocean gauges deployed since the 2004 tsunami in Banda Acha in Japan and around Wake Island.
The Northern Mariana Islands, another U.S. territory, was also under the warning, and the Hyatt Regency in Saipan has moved guests to three highest floors of the seven-story hotel.
Hotel spokesman Luis Villagomez said the hotel had received about three tsunami warnings in the last year but no serious damage.
Tsunami warnings are issued due to the imminent threat of a tsunami.
The quake struck at 2.46pm local time and was followed by five powerful aftershocks within about an hour, the strongest measuring 7.1.
The US Geological Survey upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 8.4.
The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast of Japan. NHK was warning those near the coast to get to safer ground.
The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10km), about 80 miles (125km) off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 240 miles (380km) north-east of Tokyo.
Taiwan's coast guard has begun evacuating its east coast, which is not heavily populated. Waves about 50 cm high are expected to reach the island's north and east coasts later on Friday, its central weather bureau said.
Hawaii's civil defence agency ordered all coastal areas, including the main tourist hub Honolulu, evacuated by 2 am local time (1200 GMT). The quake is due to hit at 3am.
Waves were expected to hit the Pacific island of Guam, 1,500 miles south of Japan, at 7 pm local time (1100 GMT).
Beaches had been cleared there, and hotels were moving guests to rooms on higher floors, while in the nearby Northern Mariana Islands, all residents were ordered to evacuate to higher grounds.
Ocean waves up to 6 feet (2 meters) 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 Centre.
Papua New Guinea has issued a tsunami watch for its northern provinces effective at 9 pm local time (1100 GMT).
'By the time it reaches our shores, the wave will be between half a metre and one metre high,' said Andrew Oaego, officer in charge of operations at the National Disaster Centre in Port Moresby.
HUGE Whirlpool In Japan - 8.9 Earthquake Rocks Country
source: dailymail
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