A 7.7 earthquake off the west coast of Canada has caused tsunami waves on west coast Canada; Alaska; & Hawaii.
Hawaii was hit by a tsunami on Saturday night after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Canada's British Columbia, prompting the authorities to order at least 100,000 people on the island state to move to higher ground.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the first tsunami wave was three feet high and less forceful than expected. Some forecasts had predicted a wave of up to six feet high.
"The tsunami arrived about when we expected it should," Senior Geophysicist Gerard Fryer told reporters at a news conference, saying: "I was expecting it to be a little bigger."
Other waves were expected.
The warnings followed a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 that hit Canada's Pacific coastal province of British Columbia late on Saturday.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 123 miles south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 6.2 miles.
The Earthquakes Canada agency said the quake in the Haida Gwaii region was followed by numerous aftershocks as large as 4.6 and that a small tsunami has been recorded by a deep-ocean pressure sensor.
