No Major Damage Reported as Tsunami Hits Hawaii

The first tsunami waves generated from this morning's massive earthquake near Japan have now reached the Hawaiian islands. So far, everyone appears to be safe. The word from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

"The tsunami is arriving on all islands," said Gerard Fryer, a scientist with the Tsunami Warning Center. A 6-foot surge was detected in Kahululi Harbor.

"At this point it's not going to be a major damaging event," Fryer said. But he said there may isolated damage.

A qualified sigh of relief, assuming those reports hold true. Hawaiians had hours of warning to evacuate low-lying areas before the waves reached them. Bonus science: "Because of the long length of tsunami waves, 'they wrap around our islands very efficiently' so there is no point of impact that may see higher waves than other areas."

[Star-Advertiser. Tsunami forecast map: AP]