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Tsunami Hitting Hawaii

   VOA News  March 11, 2011
   Hotel guests from the Moana Surfrider evacuate early March 11, 2011 in
   Honolulu.

Photo: AP

   Hotel guests from the Moana Surfrider evacuate early March 11, 2011 in
   Honolulu.

   Tsunami  waves  are hitting the U.S. Pacific state of Hawaii, sweeping
   through  the  island  chain.   There  were  no  immediate  reports of
   causalities.
   Water  washed  ashore in the pre-dawn hours Friday, swamping the beach
   at  the  Waikiki  resort  but stopping short of the region's high-rise
   tourist  hotels.   Waves  of  at least one meter were recorded on the
   Oahu  and  Kauai  islands,  but  there  were  no  immediate reports of
   widespread property damage.
   President  Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii and lived there in his
   youth,  was alerted in the early hours Friday at the White House about
   the  devastating  8.9  magnitude earthquake that struck Japan, and the
   tsunami that followed.
   In  a  [1]statement, the president expressed condolences to the people
   of  Japan  and  also  said  he  has  directed  the  Federal  Emergency
   Management  Agency  to be prepared to assist residents of Hawaii, U.S.
   Pacific territories and the U.S. West Coast.

     [VOA's Kate Woodsome's Q&A with Bill Dorman of Hawaii Public Radio:]

   Emergency  officials  in  Hawaii  had hours to prepare after the quake
   struck  and  ordered  residents  to  evacuate  all  low-lying  coastal
   areas.   Residents  there were moved to community centers and schools
   on  higher  grounds.  Residents  waited  in  long lines to buy gas and
   groceries.
   The  U.S.  Navy ordered its warships to remain in port at Pearl Harbor
   to support possible rescue missions.   Â
   Meanwhile,  the  [2]U.S. Tsunami Warning Center for the West Coast and
   Alaska  has  issued  a tsunami warning for the entire U.S. West Coast,
   including  Alaska,  Washington  state, Oregon and California, plus the
   northwestern Canadian province of British Columbia. Â
   Warnings  are  also  posted  for Mexico and parts of Central and South
   America.

References

   1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/11/statement-president-earthquake-japan-and-resulting-tsunami-warning-throu
   2. http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/

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