Tsunami spreads through Pacific after Chile quake
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Sunday, February 28, 2010
Nations around the Pacific Ocean have been pounded by tsunami waves triggered by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake in central Chile.
Japan is the latest country to issue a warning, with waves of up to 3m (9ft) predicted, and authorities have ordered the evacuation of 10,000 people.
But in most areas the danger is thought to have passed.
There were few reports of major damage, but there were at least five deaths in Chile's Juan Fernandez island group.
The southern Chilean port of Talcahuano is also thought to have been badly hit.
Fishing boats there were thrown out of the water and port facilities damaged.
Warning systems have improved since the 2004 Indonesia quake sparked a tsunami that killed nearly 250,000 people.
Nations and regions affected by the Pacific "Ring of Fire" all sounded alerts, trying to estimate the anticipated time of arrival of any tsunami following the earthquake, which struck at 0634 GMT.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had warned of "widespread damage", but later said waves were not as high as predicted.
A geophysicist at the centre, Gerard Fryer, told the BBC that the tsunami's impact was small because the earthquake occurred in shallow water.
The earthquake was "big enough to do significant damage, but not big enough to do anything large in the far field", he said.
However, large waves struck Chile's Juan Fernandez island group, reaching halfway into one inhabited area and killing five people. Several more are missing.
Two aid ships are reported to be on their way.
Part of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia were hit by a 4m (13ft) wave, but no casualties were reported, AFP news agency said.
In Tahiti, traffic was banned on roads less than 500m from sea, and residents on low-lying land were told to get to higher ground, but the first tsunami waves were smaller there, measuring only 36cm.
New Zealand warned waves up to 3m could hit the main North and South Islands plus outlying islands, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage.
Sirens were sounded in Hawaii to alert residents to the tsunami threat several hours before waves were expected.
The first waves hit about 2200 GMT, after water began moving away from the shore at Hilo Bay on the Big Island before returning.
But correspondents say that, although 8ft (2.5m) waves had been predicted, the islands experienced nothing noticeably different from an ordinary stormy day.
Hawaiian officials later lifted the tsunami warning.
Australian officials warned of "possible dangerous waves, strong ocean currents and foreshore flooding" from Sydney to Brisbane.
Japan may be hit at 0300 GMT on Sunday, the country's meteorological agency said, calling for people to be fully alert.