Streets filled with gridlock traffic and sirens blared in Honolulu Tuesday as a tsunami warning came into effect for large parts of the isolated U.S. state.
Activated following a magnitude-8.8 earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia, the alert upgraded to an emergency warning shortly before 3 p.m. Honolulu Time, sparking efforts to evacuate coastal areas across the state.
“A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii,” reads an update from the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS). “Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.”
Initial forecasts predicted a series of massive waves hitting the archipelago from 7 p.m. onward, extensively flooding coasts and picking up large amounts of debris that would “amplif(y) its destructive power.”
An evacuation map published by the service showed large, ring-shaped “red areas” along the coast of each island. Residents in those areas were instructed either to retreat to the fourth floor or higher of a large building, or flee the zone entirely.
By Tuesday night, officials said that a major tsunami was no longer expected to strike the islands, the warning was downgraded and evacuation orders were cancelled state-wide.
Cellphone video shared to social media Tuesday shows piercing emergency sirens and streets filled with cars as Hawaiians struggled to get to safer ground.
“It’s gridlocked – freaking cars, for miles,” a voice is heard saying in one clip shot from a highrise balcony in Honolulu. “You literally don’t move.”
One clip shows what appears to be a boat speeding out into open water.
In another, people gather at a pool and spa as the streets become choked with traffic.
As of its final update issued shortly before 11 p.m. local time, the Oahu Department of Emergency Management warned that “dangerous conditions are still possible in near-shore waters within the Hawaiian Islands,” and that residents should “use extreme caution when near or on the water.”
