Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Small tsunami waves hit Japan after Pacific quake

Ron says... This is how other countries handle tsunami alerts

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Small tsunami waves hit Japan after Pacific quake: "Hokkaido officials urged residents to move to higher ground and fire trucks made the rounds of coastal areas warning about the tsunami threat. There were only moderate tremors in Hokkaido and no immediate reports of casualties.

'We have cars going around the city telling people to evacuate,' Takahiro Yamamoto, an official with the Monbetsu city government, told NHK.

Television footage showed a worried resident of Kushiro studying the coast with binoculars from an evacuation center.

'I'm scared to return home,' said a woman cradling a child.

Authorities in the Philippines said they issued a tsunami alert 'level one,' warning residents on the northern and eastern coasts to wait for further information and possible evacuation."