http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15726732/
Japan issues tsunami alert after major quake
Northeast residents told to flee to higher ground; 6½-foot wave expected

TOKYO - Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning and told the country’s Pacific coast residents to flee to higher ground after a powerful earthquake hit hundreds of miles away.

A tsunami about 6½ feet tall or higher was expected to hit the Pacific coast of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido and main island of Honshu after 9:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EST), the agency said.

An official from the town of Shibetsu on Hokkaido, Kiyoshi Takimoto, told public broadcaster NHK that about 4,000 of the town’s 6,100 residents lived along the coast and had been told to flee to higher ground.

Takimoto said he didn’t notice the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, according to NHK.

Advisory issued for Hawaii
A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii, where the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive wave.

Cindy Preller, an official with the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, said no tsunami was expected to hit the West Coast of North or South America. She said there was a slight chance one could hit the western Aleutian Islands.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.1 struck about 245 miles east of the Etorofu islands, which are about 990 miles northeast of Tokyo, at 6:15 a.m. EST, according to the Japanese meteorological agency.

A Russian official said a powerful earthquake had struck the Kuril Islands area and there was no immediate word of damage or casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported on its Web site that a 7.8-magnitude quake had been detected 275 miles east-northeast of the Kurils at a depth of 17.2 miles. Temblors of magnitude 7 are generally classified as major earthquakes, capable of widespread, heavy damage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami warning had been issued for Russia and Japan.

Potentially deadly waves
A magnitude 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004 caused a tsunami that killed at least 213,000 people in 11 countries. Those waves reached as high as 33 feet.

Tsunami waves, which are generated by earthquakes, are often barely noticeable in the ocean but can rise to great heights once they arrive at shore.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries because it sits atop four tectonic plates.

Just got this from CNN

"Cindy Preller at the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer said no tsunami is expected to hit Hawaii or the West Coast of North and South America. She said there is a slight chance one could hit in the western Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska."

yeah and they also said that the tsunami was only a 16 inch wave. but there could be others to follow, but i sure hope not.

i hope all our japan friends on here are okay. im not sure where everyone is located from where all this is going on.

Oh great.....now it's gonna be all over the news here....and we're right near the damn water.... :no As I'm typing this, that damn warning system on the TV is going off like crazy!

I'm sending up some prayers for everyone in Japan :pray

ETA new update: TOKYO - Japan issued a tsunami warning Wednesday and told Pacific coast residents to flee to higher ground after a powerful earthquake hit off sparsely populated islands to the north. The coastal areas were hit by a series of small waves that did not swell higher than 16 inches and rapidly diminished in size.


Japan's meteorological agency initially predicted that a 6 1/2-foot tsunami would hit the Pacific coast of its northernmost island of Hokkaido and main island of Honshu after 9:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EST).

But a wave that hit the port of Nemuro on Hokkaido at 9:29 p.m. was measured at 16 inches, and live footage from the area showed calm seas. A few minutes later, a second, 8-inch wave hit the nearby port city of Kushiro, the agency said, and the waves got progressively smaller.

A tsunami warning was in effect on the coastal areas of Alaska, and the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center advised people in low-lying coastal areas to be alert to instructions from local officials. It said people on beaches in the warning area should move to higher ground.

A tsunami watch was in effect for Hawaii, where the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was investigating whether there was a threat to the state. The center said that any tsunami waves would reach Hawaii at around 7:20 a.m. (12:20 p.m. EST).

A watch was in effect for the northern tip of British Columbia, and precautionary advisories were issued for coastal areas in Washington, Oregon and California.