Japan Issues Tsunami Alert after Chile 8.2 Quake

Japan issued a tsunami alert early Thursday following a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake thousands of kilometers away across the Pacific Ocean in Chile, but said it was not likely to cause damage.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami of up to one meter (three feet) above normal sea levels may hit eastern Pacific coast regions.

The first waves are forecast to hit northern Hokkaido at around 5:00 am (2000 GMT Wednesday) and an hour later in Fukushima prefecture, which was devastated by the 2011 tsunami, Kyodo News agency reported.

The meteorological agency warned people to leave the coast immediately but said it did not expect damage from the waves.

"Get out of the water and leave the coast immediately," it said.

But it added: "Though there may be slight sea-level change in coastal regions, no tsunami damage is expected."

Authorities in Japan and many other countries at risk of tsunamis have well-developed early warning systems and tend to be cautious.

Television footage earlier showed officials in Kochi, southwestern Japan, closing a metal barrier to seal their local breakwater in preparation for possible high waves.

Large areas of the coastline covered by the alert were also hit by the 2011 quake and tsunami, which killed more than 18,000 people and triggered a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Tokyo Electric Power, which runs the crippled plant, will suspend part of operations scheduled for early Thursday near the sea shore at the plant in preparation for any waves, Jiji Press said.

In 1960, a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in Chile sent a tsunami across the Pacific that killed more than 140 people in Japan.

Indonesia also said it could be hit by a small tsunami from the quake off Chile, which killed at least six people and caused nearly a million to evacuate their homes along the coast.

Tsunami waves up to half a meter high "will possibly affect several areas in Indonesia", said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

He said the first tsunami waves could arrive at around 2200 GMT in the eastern region of Papua, and that authorities in 19 provinces of Indonesia had been alerted.

"We are urging the provincial and district governments within these areas to take precautions by urging people to stay away from beaches," he said in a statement.

Other areas that could be affected by the tsunami include parts of the main island of Java, the resort island of Bali, central Sulawesi island and the Indonesian part of Borneo island, he said.

Indonesia, which is frequently hit by earthquakes and has scores of active volcanoes, is particular vulnerable to even small tsunamis as many people on the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands live in poor, coastal communities.

More than 170,000 people were killed in Aceh province on western Sumatra island in 2004 when it was hit by a huge quake-triggered tsunami, which also left thousands dead in other countries around the Indian Ocean.

In New Zealand and Australia, southeast of Indonesia, authorities said there was no tsunami threat.