chile

I hear there is a Giant Tsunami possible ...

Hours after a massive 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, people in Hawaii prepared themselves for a potential tsunami triggered by the earthquake.

Before it had become daylight, boaters in the Kewalo Basin area in Honolulu were already loading up supplies and were getting ready to take their boats off shore, CNN affiliate KITV reported.

People rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food, water and other supplies.

"We got lots of water, we got our batteries, we got toilet paper," one woman told KITV, while she stood in a line with other shoppers and their carts stuffed with supplies.

Asked if she was scared, another shopper said, "Very, very. We're from Georgia, so ..."

Businesses in the area said they will be closed all day Saturday, the affiliate reported.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, the highest level of a tsunami alert, for the entire Pacific region, including Hawaii and countries as far away as Russia and Japan.

California and Alaska are under a tsunami advisory.

Several tsunami waves have come ashore along the Chilean coast after the earthquake, which killed at least 122 people, USGS geophysicist Victor Sardina said.

He said the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake's epicenter. Another wave, 7.7 feet hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water.

Brian Shiro of the Pacific Tsuanmi Warning Center said experts were possibly expecting 3 to 5 or 6 feet tsunami waves in Hawaii, depending on the location. "It'll be worse in the harbors and bays," he said.

"Most places, it's not going to be huge."

However, he said all coastlines could be affected. "The tsunami just wraps around the islands. and all coast lines, whether in front of the wave or behind the wave, will be at risk," he said.

The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii is 11:19 a.m. (4:19 p.m. ET), according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Hawaii's Civil Defense Division, citing the warning center, said the first wave would be at Hilo.

But evacuations of coastal areas were to begin at 6 a.m. (11 a.m. ET).Outdoor siren systems in each Hawaiian county will sound simultaneously then to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas, the state's Civil Defense Division reported.

"They're going to sound the sirens to air on the side of caution and make sure there's enough time to get people out of the evacuation zones, which are the coastal areas that may be affected," Shiro said.

American Red Cross spokesman Jonathan Aiken said the headquarters was keeping a close eye on Hawaii. Shelters there run by the local government but are staffed and stocked by the American Red Cross, he said.

Two U.S. military officials told CNN that the military is trying to assess the threat of a tsunami to Hawaii to decide whether any of its assets should be moved. No decision has been made yet.

In 1960, a tsunami triggered by an earthquake on South America's west coast, destroyed much of downtown Hilo and killed 61 people, according to the USGS.

The earthquake had a magnitude between 8.25 and 8.5, the USGS said, and the waves in Hilo Bay reached 35 feet, but only 3 to 17 elsewhere.