20100228 Tsunami reaches Japanese coast

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk A tsunami more than one metre (3 feet) high has hit Japan's northern Pacific coast, nearly 24 hours after the powerful earthquake in Chile. Warning systems across the Pacific have improved since the 2004 Indonesia quake sparked a tsunami that killed nearly 250,000 people. Nations and regions affected by the Pacific "Ring of Fire" all sounded alerts, trying to estimate the anticipated time of arrival of any tsunami following the earthquake, which struck on Saturday at 0634 GMT. People in areas at risk were ordered to move to higher ground, train services running along the coast were suspended and steel gates across fishing harbours were shut. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had warned of "widespread damage" across the region following Saturday's quake, but later said waves were not as high as predicted. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii was monitoring the waves Sirens were sounded in Hawaii to alert residents to the tsunami threat several hours before waves were expected.