Japan earthquake: Tsunami reaches US West Coast

Japan earthquake: Tsunami reaches US West Coast

 

Tsunami waves caused by the huge quake off Japan have reached the US Pacific coast, hours after bowling past Hawaii, but little damage has been reported.

Thousands of people had been ordered to leave coastal areas in Hawaii ahead of the waves' arrival at 0307 (1307 GMT). Some low-lying areas were swamped.

Evacuation orders were also issued in some coastal areas of the western US and Canada's British Columbia province.

In California, some fishing boats were torn from moorings as waves crashed in.

US President Barack Obama said he was monitoring the threat to Hawaii, his home state, and the US West Coast.

Speaking at the White House on Friday, he urged Americans to heed orders to leave their homes if they were given.

"Let me just stress that if people are told to evacuate, do as you are told," he said. "Today's events remind us of just how fragile life can be."

About 30,000 residents live in Hawaii's coastal inundation zones.

The first wave of the tsunami passed through Midway Island - a small atoll at the north-western end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about 500 miles (800km) from Hawaii's main islands - at about 1125 GMT, bringing a wave of more than 8ft (2.4m), the local Star Advertiser newspaper reported.

But waves were measured at 1.6ft at Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai and 2.3ft on Barbers Point on Oahu, local officials said.

Earlier reports suggested waves of up to 6ft might hit Hawaii's main islands.

The main airports on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii were shut down, and the US Navy ordered all warships in Pearl Harbor to remain in port in case they are needed for rescue missions.

The tsunami warning has now been downgraded to an advisory in Hawaii but officials urged people still to stay away from beaches.

'Difficult situation'

On the tourist hub in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, long queues built up at petrol stations overnight and reports said people were rushing to shops to stock up on emergency supplies and water.

Central Honolulu and Waikiki were packed with motorists trying to leave for higher ground and for shelters set up by the state, Reuters reported.

In the US territory of Guam, two US Navy submarines were pulled free of their moorings by powerful waves but were recovered by tug boats.

Waves generated by the tsunami reached the west coast of the US at 0830 local time (1630 GMT) but had significantly diminished in strength.

No damage has been reported from a 5ft wave that hit Alaska's coast. Several beach towns in Oregon were on high alert.

High waves caused a couple of tethered boats and a dock to break loose in the coastal California town of Santa Cruz, but local surfers lapped up the conditions.

"The tides are right, the swell is good, the weather is good, the tsunami is there. We're going out," surfer William Hill, an off-duty California state trooper, told the Associated Press.

Wall of water

The tsunami was triggered by a massive earthquake which hit the north-east of Japan, at 1446 local time (0546 GMT).

Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake.

Seismologists say it is the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since records began.

A tsunami warning was extended across the Pacific to North and South America.