Tsunami warning for Hawaii and US West Coast LIFTED after huge magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits off New Zealand
TSUNAMI warnings for Hawaii and the US West Coast after a magnitude eight earthquake off the coast of New Zealand were canceled on Thursday a few hours after being issued.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted the tsunami watch for the Hawaiian islands at 12.20pm local time, the Emergency Management Agency .
The Hawaii tsunami warning was issued at 9.38am local time and the West Coast of the United States was also deemed under threat.
Minutes after the Hawaii tsunami warning was lifted, the National Tsunami Warning Center that it had completed its evaluation and, "Tsunami NOT expected for the US West Coast."
A tsunami alert had been issued for American Samoa minutes after Hawaii, according to the US Emergency Alert .
The Oahu Emergency Management Twitter page said that the watch "means a tsunami may impact Hawaii."
Parts of Oahu in red and yellow indicated that people should evacuate, while green areas were considered the "safe zone."
Anyone who felt shaking was asked to "move inland."
Threats to , , , British Columbia and were also being reviewed.
The National Weather Service had earlier determined that there was no threat to those states.
The Hawaii warning was issued following a third earthquake in New Zealand, that had a magnitude of 8.1.
Residents have been urged to flee inland to safety after the monster quake struck 180 kilometres off the coast of Gisborne in northeastern New Zealand in the early hours of Friday morning.
New Zealand's issued a tsunami warning and told residents living on the coast from Cape Runaway to Tologa Bay - a stretch of 158km - to leave the area immediately.
Authorities said the first waves may have already hit at 3.34am local time.
Waves of up to three metres are expected to strike some coastal areas.
"Coastal inundation (flooding of land areas) is expected in areas under Land and Marine threat," the Civil Defence body said in a tweet.
It added: "People near the coast from CAPE RUNAWAY to TOLAGA BAY should MOVE IMMEDIATELY to the nearest high ground, out of tsunami evacuation zones, or as far inland as possible.
"Do not return until an official all-clear message is given by Civil Defence."
The agency said the evacuation advice overrides the current coronavirus restrictions.
"Do not stay at home if you are near the coast and felt the earthquake LONG or STRONG," it said.
"Evacuate immediately to the nearest high ground, out of all tsunami evacuation zones or as far inland as possible.
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"Stay 2 metres away from others if you can and it is safe to do so."
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Authorities said tsunami activity will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until the warning is cancelled.
"Hope everyone is ok out there - especially on the East Coast who would have felt the full force of that earthquake," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Instagram.