Tsunami from Japan quake hits Hawaii

The first waves to hit Hawaii from a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake off Japan have washed up onshore at Waikiki, with no initial reports of any damage.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported wave changes at Waianae Harbour around 3.24am on Friday (0024 AEDT Saturday), shortly before the relatively small waves were seen at Waikiki.
The Tsunami Warning Centre in Palmer, Alaska, placed Hawaii and parts of the US West Coast under a warning following Japan's magnitude 8.9 earthquake, urging residents to stay tuned for more information on rising waves.

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"It's not going to be a major damaging event," said Gerard Fryer with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre as the surge began to hit, although he added there might be scattered damage.
Waves were measured at 48cm at Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai, according to officials at an emergency centre in Honolulu.
The warnings also affected coastal areas through Central and South America as well as the western rim of the Pacific.
US President Barack Obama said he was monitoring the tsunami threat to his home state of Hawaii and the US West Coast after expressing condolences to those killed in the earthquake and offering to aid Japan.
"We are asking all our citizens in the affected region to listen to their state and local officials," he said in a statement.
"I have instructed FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) to be ready to assist Hawaii and the rest of the US states and territories that could be affected."
Hawaii is about 6500km east of the epicentre of Friday's earthquake.
Hawaii authorities were arranging buses to evacuate residents and opening evacuation centres.
"All residents in tsunami evacuation zones ... should evacuate immediately," the emergency department said.
Peter Carlisle, the mayor of the state capital Honolulu, told CNN authorities had ordered the evacuation based on the "worst-case scenario".
"One of the things about tsunamis is they're very, very unpredictable, and you can't tell how many waves there are going to be, which wave is going to be the one that is ... going to cause the greatest damage."
"It's a very, very difficult situation to confront."
The US Pacific Fleet command said, however, that it would not be evacuating any personnel or sailing ships out of Pearl Harbour, on the south-eastern side of Oahu island, near Honolulu.
"Projected wave assessments inside harbour indicate no need to sortie ships. Taking all measures to ensure ships secure in port," it said on the micro-blogging website Twitter.
The tsunami warning centre, based in Ewa Beach, west of Honolulu, issued a widespread warning extending across virtually the entire Pacific Ocean, including Antarctica and South America.
"A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii," the centre said.
"Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."
Waves heights cannot be predicted, and the first wave may not be the largest, it said.
People scrambled to stock up on fuel, and arguments broke out as lines formed in front of service stations, the Star Advertiser reported.
The warning issued by the Alaska monitoring station extended to Hawaii, the northern and central California coast, the Oregon coast, and parts of Alaska. It urged residents to move inland and to higher ground.
An advisory, a lesser state of alert, was issued for southern California and the Washington coast, where residents were urged to clear beaches and stay out of marinas and harbours.
"With an earthquake of this size, we could definitely see some water on the West Coast," said Cindi Preller, a watcher at the centre.
In Japan, Foreign Minister Takeiaki Matsumoto asked Tokyo asked US Ambassador John Roos for US forces stationed in the country for help in quake and tsunami relief efforts.
The United States, which occupied Japan after World War II and is now the country's main security ally, has almost 50,000 forces stationed in the country.

Japan Earthquake Update

The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in at least 100 years unleashed walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfing towns, dragging houses onto highways and tossing cars and boats like toys. Local media reported at least 32 deaths, with more casualties feared. And the 8.9-magnitude quake, which struck at 2:46 p.m., prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue a tsunami warning for at least 20 countries.
The quake's epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said.
But residents there continued to feel aftershocks hours after the quake. More than 30 aftershocks followed, with the strongest measuring at 7.1.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan appealed for calm and said there were no reported leaks of radioactive materials from power plants.
Four nuclear power plants closest to the quake were safely shut down, the UN nuclear watchdog agency said.
At Tokyo Station, one of Japan's busiest subway stations, shaken commuters grabbed one another to stay steady as the ground shook. Dazed residents poured into the streets after offices and schools were closed. Children cried.
The quake toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers. About 4 million homes had no power in Tokyo and surrounding areas.
Firefighters battled a fiery blaze at an oil refinery in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo.
Residents said though earthquakes are common in Japan, Friday's stunned most people.

Huge earthquake hit Japan on Friday tsunami warning

The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-meter tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses and cars.

At least six people were killed, five in Fukushima prefecture north of the capital, Tokyo, where four million homes were without power, and one in eastern Tochigi prefecture, media said. A hotel collapsed in the city of Sendai and people were feared buried in the rubble. Thirty international search and rescue teams stand ready to go to Japan to provide assistance following a major earthquake, the United Nations said on Friday.
"We stand ready to assist as usual in such cases," Elisabeth Byrs of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) told Reuters in Geneva. "Thirty international search and rescue teams are on alert and monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist if necessary."
The 8.9 magnitude quake caused many injuries, public broadcaster NHK said, sparked fires and the wall of water, prompting warnings to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas.