Japan, Russia on tsunami alert after Chile quake

Tsunami warnings were lifted in other nations across the Pacific Basin's "Ring of Fire" as fears of destructive waves eased, but Tokyo and Moscow were taking no chances after one of the biggest earthquakes on record.

Waves pummelled Chile and rolled through into Hawaii, French Polynesia and the South Pacific as the tsunami moved at jet-speed across the vast ocean after yesterday's 8.8-magnitude quake, which left at least 300 people dead.

Warning sirens wailed as about 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Japan were put on alert, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that killed more than 220,000 people.

Five people were killed on the remote Robinson Crusoe archipelago far off the coast of Chile, the first reported tsunami casualties, but elsewhere no significant damage was reported and surges of water were smaller than expected.The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre lifted its tsunami warning for everywhere except Japan and Russia, but the Philippines was also bracing for outsized waves.

Japan warned that waves of up to three metres could hit its northern Pacific coastline, ordering more than 50,000 people living near the shore to leave and closing ports. More
The Chilean disaster revived raw memories for Japan, where 140 lives were lost in 1960 when a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in the South American nation -- the largest on record -- sent a tsunami roaring across the Pacific.

"Last time, waves that hit after the first one became even more powerful," said Japan Meteorological Agency official Yasuo Sekita."We believe it will be the case this time, too," he said, as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama set up an emergency task force. "The agency will keep the tsunami alert for quite a long time."

Russia issued a similar warning and launched an evacuation in its Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka."We are expecting waves of up to two metres, which is a dangerous height, and so people are asked to evacuate from dangerous zones," Sakhalin island's tsunami centre chief, Tatyana Ivelskaya, said.

Thousands of families in the Philippines also fled coastal areas."The most important thing is that for people not to panic. We have prepared all our local government units since last night," said Albay provincial official Joey Salceda.

The Hawaii centre, set up by Pacific governments after the 1960 tsunami, had warned of possible "widespread damage" from waves as high as three metres.In Hawaii itself, the tsunami led to the evacuation of thousands of people and triggered panic buying of food, water and fuel. But there was little damage in the event.