Tsunami's effects seen and felt from California to Hawaii to Japan

Houses are flooded in seawater in a section of
Kesennuma, northern Japan on Sunday Feb. 28, 2010.
Japan, fearing the tsunami could gain force as it
moved closer, put all of its eastern coastline on
tsunami alert Sunday and ordered hundreds of
thousands of residents in low-lying areas to seek
higher ground as waves generated by the Chilean
earthquake raced across the Pacific at hundreds of
miles (kilometers) per hour. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
See more images of the preparation and effects
from across the Pacific in the slideshow below.

A tsunami triggered by the monstrous magnitude 8.8 earthquake near Chile traveled thousands of miles hitting dozens of nation’s across the Pacific. Millions of residents from at-risk areas were evacuated but while its effects were seen and felt, damage was minimal from the waves.

The early morning earthquake off the coast of Chile, the fifth largest on record, immediately spurred tsunami warnings in 53 nations and territories across the Pacific. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cautioned that the waves could cause widespread devastation.

In the wake of other devastating tsunamis in recent years, nations in this part of the globe have become better prepared. Emergency officials went into action and sounded alarms and worked to evacuate low-lying and at-risk areas.

In California, the waves were felt and but stormy weather that was already churning the ocean diminished the effect. Officials closed some beaches out of an abundance of caution.

Hawaii, the site of deadly tsunamis in its past, sounded alarms at 6:00am local time and began evacuations. Vacationers staying at beach-front hotels were evacuated further inland or to higher floors in their hotels. Boat owners set to sea to ride out the waves further from land where it would be safer.

The effects were clearly seen in the state 16 hours after the earthquake. The water repeatedly rushed out and then returned but in the end it was only a glancing blow and no damage was realized.

The tsunami continued to travel thousands of miles and reached the shores of Japan and Russia on Sunday.

Japan evacuated hundreds of thousands from areas of its islands that were at risk. By the time the waves reached its shores, they were four foot in height and little damage has been seen. Some waterways and rivers saw surges and minor flooding of some piers occurred.

Having been devastated by tsunamis in the past, countries in the South Pacific evacuated thousands of residents.

Samoa was the site of a deadly tsunami in September that claimed 183 lives. A magnitude 8.0 earthquake generated waves that reached 20 feet in height during that event. Residents were evacuated well in advance of the tsunami yesterday but there were no reports of surges or waves.

50,000 people in Tonga fled inland in advance of the waves. That nation was also struck by the tsunami last September and this time waves up to 6 feet struck but no damage was reported.

The Philippines, Australia and New Zealand all executed tsunami plans. While the effects were seen and felt, they were relatively minor.

Officials with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) conceded that they may have overstated the effects of yesterday’s tsunami. Gerard Fryer with the PTWC told the Associated Press, "We expected the waves to be bigger in Hawaii, maybe about 50 percent bigger than they actually were. We'll be looking at that."

However, a tsunami’s effects can only be measured once it strikes land as when the waves are traveling over the open ocean, they are only one to three feet in height. It is only when they run-up land that they grow in size and frequency making the prediction of their effects difficult.