After a world record 8.9 earthquake struck Japan, followed shortly by a devastating tsunami that caused billions of dollars in losses and what I’m sure will be 1000’s of  lives in Japan, Thursday evening (EST), Hawaii braced itself for the arrival of tsunami waves early this morning.  If you want to help, you can make donations to the Red Cross here:  http://american.redcross.org/Earthquake.

The first wave was expected to reach Hawaii around 3:30 AM Hawaiian Standard Time, as mandatory evacuation of affected coastal areas sent residents and visitors alike, scrambling for higher ground.

Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center anticipated wave heights of about 6′ and fortunately, the only two areas that got close to that were Kahului, Maui, where the surge reached 7-8′ and Hilo, Hawaii, where a rise of 5′ was recorded.  Haleiwa, Oahu, also received  a rise in water that covered the parking lot of the marina and did some damage to the harbor.

As word was received that another earthquake of a 6.6 magnitude struck Japan this afternoon, residents of Hawaii are again on the lookout for another series of waves that could possibly reach them later this evening.