As Chile reels from quake, tsunami reaches Japan

Japanese officials were bracing for a three-metre tsunami Saturday night, following a massive earthquake that struck coastal Chile nearly a day earlier, sending powerful shockwaves across the Pacific. But the initial waves were small.

Following the magnitude-8.8 quake off Chile early Saturday morning, Japan's Meteorological Agency said the first tsunami reached Ogasawara islands early Sunday afternoon. The waves were 10 centimetres high and there were no reports of damage.

However, Japanese officials said larger waves could reach the main islands, and continued their alert along the country's Pacific coastline.

Barreling through the ocean at the speed of a jetliner, some scientists had feared that the waves could grow larger as they spread across a quarter of the world's surface.

But as it crossed the Pacific, the tsunami has dealt populated areas -- including the U.S. state of Hawaii -- just a glancing blow.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center already lifted its warning for every country but Russia and Japan, though some countries in Asia and the Pacific -- including the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand -- were keeping their own watches in place as a precaution.

In 2001, a small tsunami measuring less than half a metre in height hit Japan after an 8.4-magnitude earthquake near Chile.

B.C.  was also put under an advisory but it was lifted by Saturday evening.

An official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Hawaii had "dodged a bullet," as a smaller than expected tsunami rolled ashore.

Gov. Linda Lingle said that no damage was reported anywhere in the state, despite waves that measured up to two metres in some areas.

She added that coastline surges were spotted Saturday, but none of them were large enough to hit the shore heavily.

She said it was "a great day now that it's over."

The waves hit the Hawaiian coast 16 hours after the quake destroyed thousands of buildings in Chile.

Elsewhere in the Pacific archipelago, tidal surges rose about two metres. Officials expressed relief and said the warnings were issued just in case.

The waves arrived in Hawaiian waters around noon local time, not long after water levels began dropping around the islands. The drop in water levels exposed reefs in some spots and sent streaks of muddy water into deeper areas.

Later, some water flowed over Coconut Island, which is a small park located offshore in the area of Hilo. Hilo International Airport, located near the coast, was also closed.

Earlier in the day in Hawaii, sirens wailed as a warning for residents to leave low lying areas. Roads had also been cleared in the tourist-heavy Waikiki area.

"These are dangerous, dangerous events," said John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Emergency Management Department.

Earlier, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Saturday that a huge wave had hit the Robinson Crusoe Islands, which are about 660 kilometres off the Chilean coast.

Five people went missing after a huge wave covered half of the village of San Juan Batista, said Ivan de la Maza, the superintendent of Chile's principal mainland port.

Waves 1.8 metres higher than normal hit the Chilean coast near Concepcion, the country's second-largest city, shortly after the quake.

Advance warning

Sirens and bells rang out on several Pacific Rim islands Saturday as officials took advantage of a significant lead time to alert residents of the coming waves.

Tsunami waves as high as two metres hit parts of French Polynesia early Saturday, but officials said no damage was immediately reported.

Police and officials in the Pacific Island of Tonga evacuated towns in low-lying coastal areas.

National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai told The Associated Press church bells were ringing to alert residents. Tonga officials moved up to 50,000 people from the coast to the interior.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told the Ecuavisa television channel that a tsunami passed the Galapagos Islands. It caused a swell, but no damage, he said.

Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said the lead time before the tsunami comes ashore has given officials much-needed preparation time.

"We have a reasonable lead time," he told the Associated Press. "We should be able to alert everyone in harm's way to move out of the evacuation zones."

In Australia, local officials had to put several regions under a tsunami watch. In New Zealand, a surge of about two metres was recorded.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology issued a low-level alert Saturday that residents should watch for potential tsunami warnings. The agency did not immediately recommend evacuations.

After a 9.5-magnitude quake struck Chile in 1960, a tsunami killed 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 in the Philippines. According to Japan's Meteorological Agency, that tsunami measured between one and four metres in height.

With files from The Canadian Press