Tsunami Warning for Alaska Watch for Hawaii Issued Friday Evening. Japan Experiencing Tidal Reduction

Excerpt AP report from Seattle PI:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A tsunami warning was issued Friday night for Alaska's western Aleutian islands and a tsunami watch was issued for Hawaii after an 8.3-magnitude earthquake in the northern Pacific.

If waves reached Alaska, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said they could be expected to hit Dutch Harbor around 11:41 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.

In Hawaii, waves could arrive about an hour later, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The Alaska center warned people in low-lying coastal areas to remain alert and to wait for instructions from local emergency officials.

The Alaska center issued a tsunami watch, a lower level of alert, for the rest of the Aleutians and coastal areas from the north tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, northward along southcentral Alaska.

The warning message was "advisory only for other areas of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia," the center said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings following the quake. The agency said waves as high as 3.3 feet could hit the northeastern coast of Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. The tidal level fell 4 inches in Nemuro in northeastern Japan, a sign that a tsunami could hit later, the agency said.

tags: tsunami  rush limbaugh  tidal wave  earthquake  japan  alaska  pacific tsunami warning center  hawaii  

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