Updated July 30, 2025, 1:18 AM EDT

Japan’s meteorological agency said tsunami warnings remained in place since waves were still being observed and asked those in the warning zones to remain in safe locations.

Agency official Masashi Kiyomoto said each wave cycle was lasting about an hour and that there had been two to three cycles so far. He said it was too early to say whether the waves were getting larger with each cycle.

Based on similar-sized earthquakes in the region in the past, the tsunamis could last for about a day, he said.

Hawaii’s tourism chief tonight said visitors in high-rise hotels and resorts should head to higher floors where possible.

James Kunane Tokioka, state director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, called such a move “vertical evacuation.”

“Properties along the coastline are being asked to evacuate vertically, four floors and above,” he said, meaning tourists should be at least on the fourth floor before any waves arrive.

The Waikiki coast in Honolulu is packed with high-rise hotels and resorts.

Japan, where the earthquake was barely felt, has reported the biggest tsunami waves so far, measuring 60 centimeters, or almost 2 feet.

One arrived at 1:11 p.m. local time (12:11 a.m. ET) in the town of Hamanaka in the southern region of the northernmost island of Hokkaido, according to Japan’s meteorological agency. The other was at 1:03 p.m. at Kuji port in Iwate Prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu.

Earlier, Japan reported waves on Honshu and Hokkaido of about 12 to 20 inches. Officials had said waves could reach as high as about 3 feet.

The Coast Guard has ordered all commercial vessels at commercial ports in Hawaii to evacuate.

In a post on X, the agency attributed the order to the captain of the Port of Honolulu. It also said all harbors in the state have been closed to incoming traffic.

In its advice about responding to a tsunami, the federal website ready.gov says, “If you are in a boat, go out to sea.”

The governor of Hawaii tonight emphasized that tsunami effects could be real and costly, as potent ocean pulses from the 8.8-magnitude quake east of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula were expected at around 7:17 p.m. local time (1:17 a.m. ET).

Gov. Josh Green said impacts are almost certain. “We do expect damage. We expect significant damage along the coastlines,” he said.

“We pray that we won’t lose any of our loved ones,” he continued.