(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/msn-121028_hawaii-tsunami-5a.photoblog600.jpg)Eugene Tanner / APVisitors and Oahu residents watch the water level in the Ala Wai Harbor in Hawaii for the arrival of a tsunami on Saturday.By NBC News staff and news wiresUpdated at 7:35 a.m. ET: A tsunami warning that spurred coastal evacuations throughout Hawaii was downgraded to a tsunami advisory, ending the threat of serious damage, the state's governor said early on Sunday.
At least 100,000 people were ordered to move from the shoreline to higher ground late on Saturday after the tsunami warning, but the first waves were less forceful than had been feared and no damage was initially reported.
The tsunami, triggered by a powerful earthquake off Canada's Pacific coast, began shortly after 10:30 p.m. Hawaii time (4:30 a.m. ET), according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (http://ptwc.weather.gov/), as motorists clogged roadways in a mass exodus from low-lying areas.
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