Tsunami warnings, watches issued around Pacific

Mar 11, 2011, 7:12 GMT

Tokyo - Tsunami waves hit the coast of north-east Japan Friday after a magnitude-8.9 earthquake, and tsunami warnings and watches were issued for countries around the Pacific.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for Japan and Russia and tsunami watches for Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hawaii, Guam and other Pacific islands.

'An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours,' the centre said.

It warned that a tsunami could be a series of waves, the time between different waves could be five minutes to an hour and the first wave might not be the largest.

Television images showed waves striking the Japanese coast. The centre forecast arrival times for Russia's Urup Island at 0714 GMT, initial times for Taiwan at 0932 GMT, the Philippines at 0955 GMT and Indonesia at 1049 GMT.

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