Hawaii orders evacuations in Pacific tsunami threat

Hawaii ordered evacuations of coastal areas after Friday’s earthquake in Japan as a tsunami warning was extended to the entire Pacific basin, except for the US mainland and Canada.

The main airports on at least three of the major islands -- Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii -- were shut down as a precaution, and the US Navy ordered all warships in Pearl Harbor to remain in port to support rescue missions as needed.

President Barack Obama, a native of Hawaii, was notified of the massive Japanese quake at 4 a.m./0900 GMT and instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be prepared to help US states and territories, the White House said. ”We will continue to closely monitor tsunamis around Japan and the Pacific going forward and we are asking all our citizens in the affected region to listen to their state and local officials,” Obama said in a statement. Authorities also ordered evacuations from low-lying areas on the US island territory of Guam in the western Pacific, where residents there were urged to move at least 50 feet (15 meters) above sea level and 100 feet (30 meters) inland. Guam initially appeared to have emerged unscathed.

”So far no waves,” Lorilee Crisostomo told Reuters by telephone from Guam roughly an hour after the first waves were due, but within a four-hour window set by forecasters.

Guam’s homeland security agency advised tourists in high-rise hotels to take shelter on the sixth floor and above.

List of some of the strongest quakes since 1900 Here is a factbox showing the 10 strongest earthquakes recorded since 1900, by order of magnitude.

• May 22, 1960 - Chile - An earthquake of magnitude 9.5 struck Santiago and Concepcion, triggering tidal waves and volcanic eruptions. Some 5,000 people were killed and 2 million made homeless.
• March 28, 1964 - Alaska - An earthquake and ensuing tsunami killed 125 people and caused about $310 million in property loss. The magnitude 9.2 quake buffeted a large area of Alaska and parts of western Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada.
• Dec. 26, 2004 - Indonesia - A magnitude 9.1 quake struck off the coast of Aceh province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, setting off a tsunami that killed more than 226,000 people in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, India and nine other countries.
• Nov. 4, 1952 - Russia - An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 generated a tsunami that reached the Hawaiian islands. No lives were lost.
• March 11, 2011 - An 8.9 magnitude quake struck Japan, causing many injuries. The US Geological Survey verified the quake at a depth of 15.1 miles and located it at 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu.
• The Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia all issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for countries as far away as Colombia and Peru.
• Feb. 27, 2010 - Chile - An 8.8 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami in Chile killed more than 500 people and caused some $30 billion in damage, wrecking hundreds of thousands of homes and mangling highways and bridges.

• Jan. 31, 1906 - Ecuador - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia, generating a tsunami that killed up to 1,000 people. It was felt all along the coast of Central America and as far north as San Francisco and west to Japan.
• Feb. 4, 1965 - Alaska - An earthquake of magnitude 8.7 generated a tsunami reported to be about 35 feet (10.7 meters) high on Shemya Island.
• March 28, 2005 - A magnitude 8.7 quake off Sumatra was estimated to have killed 1,300 people, many on Nias island off Sumatra’s west coast.
• March 9, 1957 - Alaska - An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6 rattled the Andreanof Islands. On Umnak Island, Mount Vsevidof erupted after being dormant for 200 years, generating a 50-foot (15-meter) tsunami that continued to Hawaii.