Tsunami warnings after quake

By The CNN Wire

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(CNN) -- The following is a list of tsunami warnings and watches following a major earthquake on Wednesday in the Kuril Islands.

Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the quake at 8.1, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center measured it at 7.8.

Japan

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the eastern Pacific coast and the Okhotsk Sea coast of Hokkaido.

The agency had warned on its Web site that a wave of up to two meters (about six feet) could wash up on coastal areas and urged people to seek shelter on higher ground immediately. However, the wave that did appear soon after the quake measured about 16 inches.

Much of the rest of the island nation's coast is under a tsunami watch and officials predicted a wave up to 18 inches could hit.

Japan's primary public broadcasting source NHK said Japanese officials are expecting a wave of up to 6.5 feet in a less populated area of the Kuril Island chain.

Alaska/ Washington state/ British Columbia

According to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a tsunami warning is in effect for the Alaska coastal areas from Sand Point, Alaska to Attu, Alaska.

A tsunami watch is in effect for the parts of Alaska, British Columbia and Washington state from Cape Flattery, Washington to Sand Point, Alaska.

Tsunami warning

Such an alert means that "all coastal residents in the warning area who are near the beach or in low-lying regions should move immediately inland to higher ground and away from all harbors and inlets including those sheltered directly from the sea," according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center's Web site.

Tsunami Watch

This alert means that "all coastal residents in the watch area should prepare for possible evacuation. A tsunami watch is issued to areas which will not be impacted by the tsunami for at least three hours. Watch areas will either be upgraded to warning status or canceled," the Web site said.

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