Tens of thousands of people fled to higher ground in East Asia as a tsunami warning was issued across the Pacific today after a magnitude-8.9 earthquake rocked Japan, but the countries and islands initially hit by the waves were spared the worst forecasts.

Waves as high as 10m were generated by the quake in north-eastern Japan, but in other areas, they were smaller than warnings issued by tsunami alert centres and weather bureaus. They were recorded at 60cm in the Philippines and 10cm in Indonesia and Taiwan.

Small Pacific island nations were of particular concern because many lie lower than the height of the waves that were predicted.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the first tsunami measuring 60cm hit the eastern coast of the northern province of Cagayan. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.

The institute said it monitored up to four tsunami waves in the hour since the first one struck and would continue to monitor the coast overnight.

It had placed 19 provinces along the entire east coast of the Philippines under a tsunami alert, prompting the evacuations of more than 10,000 people.

Sea travel on the eastern side of the Philippines was suspended, stranding hundreds of passengers in affected ports, the coast guard said.

In Indonesia, a 10-centimetre tsunami was recorded on the island of Halmahera just after dusk, said Fauzi, head of the Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning Centre.

A 40-centimetre tsunami was detected on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, but there was no information from the Papua region on the Indonesian half of New Guinea island, said Fauzi.

Indonesia’s meteorology agency had warned that a tsunami could hit the Maluku Islands, of which Halmahera is a part; North Sulawesi province; and the easternmost Papua region. Thousands of people fled their homes as a result.

- dpa