HONOLULU – A tsunami triggered by the Chilean earthquake sent a surge of water ashore in Hawaii, California and islands in the South Pacific on Saturday as the waves continued onto Alaska and parts of Asia.

There were no immediate reports of widespread damage, injuries or deaths in the U.S. or in the Pacific islands, but a tsunami that swamped a village on an island off Chile killed at least five people and left 11 missing.

In Hawaii, water began pulling away from shore off Hilo Bay on the Big Island just before noon, exposing reefs and sending dark streaks of muddy, sandy water offshore. Waves later washed over Coconut Island, a small park off Hilo‘s coast.

The tsunami caused a series of surges that were about 20 minutes apart, and the waves arrived later and smaller than originally predicted. The highest wave at Hilo measured 5.5 feet (1.7 meters) high, while Maui saw some as high as 2 meters (6.5 feet).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled its tsunami warning for Hawaii.

“We dodged a bullet,” said Gerard Fryer, a geophysist for the warning center. He said there was the possibility that the tsunami would gain strength again as it heads to Japan.

There were no immediate reports of widespread damage around the Pacific Rim, just tidal surges that reached up to about seven feet in some island chains. Waves hit California, but barely registered amid stormy weather. No injuries or major property damage were reported.

Nearly 50 countries and island chains remained under tsunami warnings, from Antartica to Russia’s far northeast.

The tsunami raced across the Pacific Ocean at the speed of a jetliner after the quake hit Chile hours earlier. Unlike other tsunamis in recent years in which residents had little warning, emergency officials had ample time to get people out of the potential disaster area.

Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the potential waves. Emergency officials used buses to ferry people in tourist-heavy Waikiki away from the shore. Authorities even flew overhead in Cessnas blaring warnings to people to get out of the potential danger zone.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com

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