HONOLULU, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The first wave of the tsunami spawned by the magnitude 8.9 Japan earthquake reached the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu early Friday but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The wave was arriving on Oahu and a surge was apparent on the Diamond Head camera, the National Weather Service said. A gauge at Nawiliwili Harbor has registered a 1.5 foot (0.46 meter) increase and was rising, according to the service.
A 6.5-foot (2 meter) tsunami was expected to reach Kauai, the westernmost islands on the chain of Hawaiian islands, at 3:07 a.m. (1303 GMT) local time after it passed Midway Island at a height of 8.2 feet (2.5 meter), the weather service said.
Waves about 3 feet (a meter) high were recorded on Oahu and Kauai, and officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger.
There will be a series of waves, and the first wave may not be the biggest, the weather service warned.
Water rushed ashore in Honolulu, swamping the beach in Waikiki and surging over the break wall in the world-famous resort but stopping short of the area's high-rise hotels.
Roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunami struck the state, which had hours to prepare. Residents in coastal areas of Hawaii were sent to refuge areas at community centers and schools while tourists in Waikiki were moved to higher floors of their hotels.
People waited in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators, and officials told residents to stock up on water and fill their cars with gas.
Hawaii's tsunami warning was issued Friday at 3:31 a.m. EST (0831 GMT). Sirens were sounded about 30 minutes later in Honolulu alerting people in coastal areas to evacuate. About 70 percent of Hawaii's 1.4 million population resides in Honolulu, and as many as 100,000 tourists are in the city on any given day.
The tsunami, spawned by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan, slammed the eastern coast of Japan, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. It raced across the Pacific at 500 mph _ as fast as a jetliner -- and likely won't change speed until it hits a large area of land, said Kanoa Koyanagi, a geophysicist for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. 
