Tsunami alert

Houses are flooded in seawater in a section of Kesennuma in northern Japan on Sunday, Feb. 28. Japan, fearing the tsunami could gain force as it moved closer, put all of its eastern coastline on tsunami alert Sunday and ordered hundreds of thousands of residents in low-lying areas to seek higher ground as waves generated by the Chilean earthquake raced across the Pacific at hundreds of miles per hour.

Residents watch the Pacific coast at a shrine in Shichigahama, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan on Sunday following an evacuation during the tsunami warning issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency. Waves of four feet hit Japan's northern Pacific coast on Sunday after a massive earthquake struck Chile the day before.

Filipino residents take shelter as tsunami fears spread through text messages at the coastal city of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Philippines early Sunday. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a low-level alert saying people should await further notice of a possible tsunami. It did not recommend evacuations.

People walk past a tsunami alert sign at Petone beach, near Wellington, New Zealand on Sunday.

A policeman clears the water of swimmers at Mission Bay on the east coast of Auckland, New Zealand, after a tsunami alert on Sunday.

Junior members of Sydney's Bondi Beach surf club look out to sea after the beach was declared closed due to a tsunami threat on Sunday. People were urged to stay away from Australia's east coast beaches.

Still images captured from video over a two-hour period show the changing water color and wave action in Hilo Bay during the time the first tsunami waves were expected following the Chilean earthquake, Saturday, Feb. 27.

Hawaii Department of Emergency Management officials alert homeless campers at Maile Beach in Waianae of a possible tsunami on Saturday, Feb. 27, after the powerful earthquake in Chile.

A homeless camp on Maile Beach in Waianae, Hawaii, sits empty Saturday after officials urged people to evacuate.

A shopper passes an empty water aisle at a supermarket in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Saturday as residents stocked up ahead of a possible tsunami.

Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu sits empty on Saturday soon after the tsunami alert was issued.

Boats leave the harbor near Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu on Saturday as a precaution during the tsunami warning.

These surfboards were packed up Saturday as Honolulu's Waikiki Beach closed down because of the tsunami warning.

A police helicopter circles surfers Saturday off the Waianae Coast, warning them of a possible tsunami.

An employee of a Waikiki hotel moves lounge chairs from the pool area on Saturday. Sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents of a possible tsunami, with authorities asking people who live near the water to evacuate.

Dean Collins, of Anderson, S.C., ties down his luggage at a hotel Saturday in Waikiki as he prepares to leave for higher ground.

Shoppers line up in front of a grocery store as they wait for it to open on Saturday in Honolulu. Residents were stocking up on food and emergency supplies in preparation for a potentially damaging tsunami.

A long line of cars wait to gas up after learning about the tsunami warning in Mililani, Hawaii.

This image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a model of the preliminary forecast of the tsunami triggered by the 8.8 earthquake in Chile. The model shows waves of up to three feet traveling across the Pacific Ocean.

Vindell Hus reviews earthquake and tsunami data at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, on Saturday.