Thousands begin evacuating in Japan as threat of tsunami nears

Tens of thousands of residents began evacuating Sunday morning from coastal Japan in anticipation of a possible tsunami following Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake.

The northern part of the main island was looking at the possibility of a tsunami at least 9 feet high, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Rail service was halted in coastal areas and residents were urged to evacuate low-lying areas of the island nation.

The warning primarily affected fishing areas and tourist areas; major cities like Tokyo, which is inland, were not affected.

Sunday's alert was Japan's first major tsunami warning in more than 15 years, the agency reported.

A tsunami spawned by Chile's 1960 earthquake killed 140 people in Japan.

On Saturday, tsunami warnings from Chile's temblor initially covered the entire Pacific region, but they were canceled less than 18 hours later except for Russia, Japan and the Philippines.

The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a Level-2 tsunami alert for the east coast of the Philippines.

A Level-2 alert means people are advised to stay away from the shoreline; residents near coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean are advised to go farther inland.

Meanwhile, an official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the island chain of Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after smaller-than-expected waves were reported.

Coast Guard crews said they had found no significant damage to ports or waterways as a result of the tsunami.

"There was no assessment of any damage in any county, which is quite remarkable," said Gov. Linda Lingle, who said witnesses had reported seeing "dramatic surges going on in the ocean."

The only airport that was shut, the Hilo airport on Hawaii, reopened late in the afternoon.

"If people have a confirmed reservation they can go to the airport now and they will be able to catch their flights," Lingle said.

The center also canceled warnings for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Antarctica, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Pitcairn, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, French Polynesia, Mexico, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Kermadec Island, Niue, New Zealand, Tonga, American Samoa, Jarvis Island, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Fiji, Australia, Palmyra Island, Pojnston Island, Marshall Island, Midway Island, Wake Island, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Howland-Baker, New Caledonia, Solomon Island, Nauru, Kosrae, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Marcus Island, Indonesia, North Marianas, Guam, Yap, Belau, Philippines and Chinese Taipei.

Earlier, Hawaiian residents had scrambled to stock up on water, gas and food as sirens pierced the early morning quiet across the islands ahead of the tsunami.

Roads to beaches and other low-lying areas were closed and seaside hotels moved guests to higher ground.

Samoa Issued Alert to Begin Evacuations

Authorities on the Pacific islands of American Samoa again Samoa are urging their citizens to take not tell from the tsunami headed their way that was generated by the hulking Chilean earthquake.

American Samoa Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia has called on all residents on shorelines villages to move to dominant grounds, future police consequence Samoa have issued a nationwide jovial to begin coastal evacuations.

The tsunami is expected to gain the islands Saturday morning.

The American Samoa government has activated misfortune services with off care police officers besides contra distinct first responders to account to their aegis through soon considering possible.

Meanwhile, disaster subjection officials in Fiji say they had been warned to feel waves of between since high considering 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to hit the northern and eastern islands of the archipelago and the nearby Tonga islands.

On Sept. 29, a tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 people effect American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga. Scientists next said that wave was 46 feet (14 meters) high.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. shake on back soon for additional information. AP's earlier story is below.

Family importance Hawaii were urgently told to protect lives again property from a tsunami safari the Pacific now fast in that a jetliner beside a devastating earthquake pressure Chile.

Tsunami waves were likely to grill Asian, Australian besides fresh Zealand shores within 24 hours of the earthquake, which struck early Saturday on Chile's coast.

Though notoriously hard to predict, the tsunami was not expected to embody as devastating as the waves generated after a magnitude-9.5 earthquake go over Chile in 1960. Most countries, awaiting further data, did not direction evacuations Saturday but instead advised relatives imprint low-lying areas to watch for additional updates.

The windless Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii advised that a tsunami was possible in the northern Pacific, including the U.S. West Coast and Alaska.

''Sea-level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could give impulse widespread damage,'' the center said in a memorandum beside the magnitude-8.8 crush. ''Authorities should carry designate action to respond to this threat.''

The limelight esteemed that tsunami indicate heights are difficult to predict owing to they charge vary significantly along a coast fit to the diagnostic topography.

Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily distressed by a tsunami outlive year. On Sept. 29, a tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 kinsfolk in American Samoa, 183 network Samoa and nine string Tonga. Scientists later said that gesticulate was 46 feet (14 meters) high.

Past South American earthquakes have had deadly effects across the Pacific.

A tsunami closest the magnitude-9.5 percussion that buffeted Chile in 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, killed about 140 people in Japan, 61 in Hawaii and 32 connections the Philippines. That tsunami was about 3.3 to 13 feet (apart to four meters) in height, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

The tsunami from Saturday's quake was to come to be much smaller now the quake itself was not because strong.

Japanese civic broadcaster NHK quoted earthquake experts as saying the tsunami would likely be tens of centimeters (inches) notable and reach Japan in about 22 hours. A tsunami of 28 centimeters (11 inches) was recorded abutting a magnitude-8.4 earthquake near Chile in 2001.

The Meteorological author said live was still investigating the likelihood of a tsunami from the magnitude-8.8 brunt and did not surface a formal coastal warning.

Australia, meanwhile, was lay foundation on a tsunami watch.

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning Saturday night tide owing to a ''potential tsunami threat'' to increased South Wales state, Queensland state, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Any violence signal would not needle Australia until Sunday morning local time, it said.

The Philippine enter upon of Vulcanology and Seismology issued a low-level alert saying people should await fresh edict of a possible tsunami. legitimate did not stimulate evacuations.

Seismologist Fumihiko Imamura, of Japan's Tohoku University, told NHK that residents near ocean shores should not decry the power of a tsunami even though they may be generated by quakes thousands of miles (kilometers) first off.