Tsunami Reaches Hawaii; Not as strong as Expected

(Source: abcnews)

The first waves associated with the tsunami generated by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake off of Japan to reach Hawaii are far weaker than expected.  Local news in Hawaii reports that waves are only about a foot higher than usual.

Kauai was the first island hit early by the wave, and it quickly swept passed the other islands in the chain.  However, bigger waves are still expected to follow.

8 sets of tsunami waves expected along the coast. The first set of tsunami waves began reaching Oregon's coast between 7:00 and 8:00 AM local time (roughly within the time-frame of this post), and currently the twitter-sphere is reporting no damage.   KATUNews is reporting that water at Cannon Beach is pulling back, indicating that the tsunami is coming in there.  Waves up to 6 feet in height are still being projected. The tsunami is expected to hit Los Angeles around 8:30 a.m. local time, but a larger follow-up wave is expected two hours later when the tide is higher.