Hawaii braces for on-coming tsunami

Three to eight foot waves are expected to cause widespread disruption along coastal areas.

UPDATE: On Saturday the tsunami reached the French Polynesian islands, the West Coast of the continental U.S. and Hawaii. No word yet on damage but waves only reached 5 feet in Hilo and 6.5 feet in Maui.

The tsunami warning has been canceled for the islands, as the tsunami heads toward Alaska and Asia.

The tsunami, generated by the earthquake early Saturday morning, flooded a village on a small island just of Chile's coast, leaving five dead and eleven missing.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - A tsunami, generated by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake is approaching the Hawaiian islands, with the first landfall expected around 4pm this afternoon, Eastern time. Sirens sounded in the Pacific island chain after a state of emergency was declared by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle.

Currently, over 100,000 residents and tourists are being relocated out of low-lying areas with 3 to 8 foot waves expected. Jane Lovell, spokeswoman for the civil defense agency on the island of Maui, told the Los Angeles Times, "We are taking this very seriously. We have activated, and we think this is a real emergency."

Authorities said that even low-level flooding could cause widespread disruption along the coast comparable to major storm flooding.

Brian Shiro, a geophysicist at the Hawaii-based tsunami warning center, told the Times, "That doesn't sound very big in comparison to the kind of waves you hear about in Hawaii, but tsunamis are not the same as normal ocean waves. You can't compare it to surfing waves."

"The wave comes in and it's like a flood. The whole place floods inward. Water rushes in and it washes back out, in a period of about 20 minutes. And then the next one comes in 20 minutes later, approximately."

According to reports coming out of Hawaii, many of those who have been moved to higher ground are in a somewhat festive mood and have gathered in viewing spots to watch for the on-coming waves.

The tsunami also threatens the West coast of the U.S. and numerous islands in the entire Pacific region.

Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, told Reuters, "We're not expecting this to be a worst-case scenario, but we are expecting dangerous waves to appear on shore." The center, which has issued a Pacific-wide warning, is responsible for issuing warnings to nations in the Pacific Rim and island states.

We've got a lot of things going for us," he stated to an Associated Press reporter. "We have a reasonable lead time."

The first waves have already reached French Polynesia  but have been very small - only one foot high. The Gambier Archipelago was the first island reached at 11:00am Eastern time and Tahiti about two hours later then Bora Bora. Later waves reached heights of six feet, damaging shorelines.

According to Reuters, French Polynesia President Gaston Tong Sang has been encouraging residents, saying the territory was used to cyclones and hurricanes.

"We will be vigilant, leaving nature to do its work," he told France Info radio.

"But I am thinking particularly of Marquesas Archipelago, it is the most vulnerable area. Islands have no reefs and the bays are deep so water elevations can be important."

Tsunami waves can travel up to 600 mph and could reach Asia, Australia and New Zealand within the next 24 hours.

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online. He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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