Tsunami alert from NOAA

"Tsunami Warning: Sirens Put Hawaii on Alert Ahead of Waves Hawaiians Stock Up on Food, Gas as Waves Prepare to Hit at 11 a.m. Local Time By DEVIN DWYER
Feb. 27, 2010 A shopper pushes a cart full of emergency supplies at Safeway grocery store early Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in Honolulu. Hawaii braced Saturday for a tsunami, after a massive earthquake off Chile sent waves across the Pacific Ocean. (Marco Garcia/AP Photo)

Civil defense sirens blared in each county of Hawaii starting at 6:00 a.m. Hawaiian time as residents and tourists calmly began leaving their coastline homes and resorts and moving to higher ground.

Grocery stores faced a crush of residents eager to stock up on food, water and batteries. Long lines of cars snaked through many islands' streets near gas stations as drivers filled their tanks.

Red Cross officials are urging people to gather food and supplies to remain self-sufficient for at least three days.

"We've got a lot of things going for us," Charles McCreery, director of the center told The Associated Press. "We have a reasonable lead time. The evacuation should all take place during daylight hours, and wave impact should be during daylight hours."

The first wave is expected to hit the Big Island by 11:19 a.m. local time, 4:19 p.m. ET. The wave will then move north to the other islands.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning -- its highest alert -- early Saturday morning, warning of damage along the shores of all islands in the state.

Here is an official tsunami alert from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See the worldwide impact schedule in detail at this site, if not too late. http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/"

“TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER   1NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
1045 AM HST FRI FEB 26 2010
 
TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII
 
SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION
 
THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.
 
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
 
   ORIGIN TIME - 1031 AM HST 26 FEB 2010
   COORDINATES - 26.0 NORTH  128.4 EAST
   LOCATION    - RYUKYU ISLANDS  JAPAN
   MAGNITUDE   - 7.3  MOMENT
 
EVALUATION
 
 BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS
 NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A
 DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO
 TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.
 
THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.”