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EWA BEACH, Hawaii - A tsunami triggered by the Chilean earthquake raced across the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, threatening Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast as well as hundreds of islands from the bottom of the planet to the top.
Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the potential waves. As the waves expected arrival drew near, roads into the tourist-heavy Waikiki were closed off. Police patrolled main roads, telling tourists to get off the streets.
On several South Pacific islands hit by a tsunami last fall, police evacuated tens of thousands of coastal residents.
The first waves in Hawaii were expected to hit shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday (4 p.m. EST; 2100 GMT) and measure roughly 8 feet at Hilo. Most Pacific Rim nations did not immediately order evacuations, but advised people in low-lying areas to be on the lookout.
Unlike other tsunamis in recent years in which residents had little to if any warnings, emergency officials along the Pacific on Saturday had hours to prepare and decide on evacuating residents.
"We've got a lot of things going for us," said Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues warnings to almost every country around the Pacific Rim and to most of the Pacific island states. "We have a reasonable lead time."
In Hawaii, boats and people near the coast were being evacuated. Hilo International Airport, located along the coast, was closed. In Honolulu, residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on water, canned food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations.
"These are dangerous, dangerous events," said John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Emergency Management Department.
In Tonga, where nine people died in a Sept. 29 tsunami, police and defense forces began evacuating tens of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that waves about three feet high could wash ashore.
"I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people," National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai said.