THE TELEGRAPH: Residents in coastal areas of Hawaii are being evacuated as the Pacific island chain braces for a tsunami following a powerful earthquake off the coast of Chile.
Tsunami sirens sounded at 6am local time (1600 GMT) to alert residents to the risk posed by the waves.
Warnings were triggered on islands all across the Pacific following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake 70 miles from Chile's second largest city Concepcíon.
Tsunami waves radiated out from the epicentre and have already hit land at the southern Juan Fernandez Islands, about 400 miles off the coast of Chile, where it was reported to have caused "serious damage".
Easter Island has also been evacuated ahead of the waves hitting.
Residents in Hawaii were warned that the potentially destructive waves were forecast to reach the islands by 11.19am local time.
Experts at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said they were expecting a tsunami of more than three feet in the central Pacific.
It is the first time Hawaii has experienced voluntary tsunami evacuation since 1994.
Emergency services were laying on fleets of public buses to provide free transport for anyone needing to leave evacuation zones.
"If you live anywhere in the evacuation zone, you have to evacuate," said John Cummings, Oahu Emergency Management Department spokesman. "We're going to treat this as a destructive-type tsunami." >>> Richard Gray | Saturday, February 27, 2010
HONOLULU ADVERTISER: An 8.8 earthquake in Chile triggered a tsunami warning in the Hawaiian Islands this morning, prompting residents and tourists to clog gas stations and supermarkets as they stocked up on food, water and toilet paper.
Tsunami warning signals began blaring across all islands just after 6 a.m. today and tourists in Waikiki were told to head to higher floors inside their hotels.
Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center say this morning's tsunami wave should arrive at a height of 2.5 meters — or just over 8 feet — when it hits the Big Island at 11:19 a.m.
By the time it reaches Oahu 40 minutes later, the waves should only be a meter or less.
A meter is equivalent to 39 inches. But officials urged people not to be lulled by the relatively small wave heights in a state accustomed to monster waves.
"You're going to have some run-up and you're probably going to see some damage in the inundation zone area," said Victor Sardina, a geophysicist for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. "I would hope people don't stay around the coastal area. Just go inward; stay away from the shore."
The center warned that tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and that the first wave may not be the biggest.
Because tsunami waves wrap around the islands, all shores are at risk no matter which direction they face, officials said. >>> Advertiser Staff | Saturday, February 27, 2010
