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those pictures and that sound give you a very good idea of just what people in japan are dealing with this morning. those shots, of course, of the magnitude 8.9 quake which hit just about 2:46 local time. >> the images, as you can see, are devastating. and that quake triggered a tsunami. some waves reported as high as 30 feet high, and that wall of mud just sweeping away everything in its path right now. the death toll in the area is on the rise. buildings in tokyo, which are currently on fire right now, 4 million buildings in the region without power. so this is a devastating situation that we're watching unfold minute by minute right now. >> indeed we are. you imagine tokyo is about 230 miles south of the city closest to where this earthquake hit. that is really making its way through japan. we want to get youed very latest this morning. we do want to start in japan where the country is in chaos. this is the biggest earthquake to hit there in at least 140 years. as chris mentioned it caused a tsunami. at least 13 feet high. it swept over japan's northeast coast. we know at this hour at least 40 people are dead. that number is expected to rise. the tsunami is now rolling toward hawaii and toward the west coast of the united states. we begin our coverage this morning in tokyo where cbs' lucy craft has the latest on the catastrophe. lucy, good morning. >> good morning, erica. you know, the japanese are accustomed to earthquakes, even powerful ones occur frequently. but no one has ever experienced a violent earthquake like this one. one that seemed to go on forever. an earthquake so powerful it literally rocked this country into a standstill. a powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked japan's northeast coast at 2:46 friday afternoon local time. followed by at least 19 aftershocks. most more than 6.1 magnitude. the quake unleashed a huge tsunami. a seemingly endless wave of water, at least 13 feet high, carried cars, trucks, boats, and whole buildings, as if they were toys. farmlands near the city of sendai. flames shot from some homes, probably set afire by burst gas pipes. this was the scene inside a tv station 240 miles north of tokyo. as furniture and equipment went flying. at the airport, many rushed to the top of a tall building to escape the rising waters. a large fire roared into the air over an oil refinery near tokyo. scores of uncontrolled fires burned up and down japan's 1,300 mile eastern coast. in tokyo, large office buildings shook violently, and continued to sway for more than 30 minutes. office workers hurried on to the street. black smoke poured from at least one skyscraper. across northeast and central japan, airports were shut down, and trains stopped running. japan's prime minister natur nan urged calm. i offer my deepest sympathy to the people who have suffered the disaster, he says. a state of emergency was issued when the cooling system at one nuclear power plant failed. however there was no radiation leak. the quake is said to be the largest to hit japan in reported history. with transit lines cut, the government is asking commuters to stay put, to spend the night in their offices. meanwhile the city is bracing for more powerful aftershocks. erica? >> lucy craft in tokyo. lucy, thank you. joining us now via skype from tokyo is matt alt who's been living in that city for eight years. matt, good morning. first describe for us what happened to you in your home. >> oh, it was a terrifying sensation. the only way i could describe it, like a sustained sense of vertigo. the entire floor was shaking almost like a carnival ride or something like that. only you never knew when it was going to stop. and it only lasted for about a minute or so, but i can tell you, it felt a lot longer than that. >> were you able to stand up at that point? did you hit the floor? >> no. what happened, actually, was when it first hit, my wife and i went outside. and then when the quake really hit, it was so strong, and the undulation of the earth was so powerful that we actually had to kind of hang onto the outside of our house, and eventually we had to crouch down almost like in a little ball to keep from falling over. >> you paint a terrifying picture, quite frankly. you've lived there for eight years. >> yes. >> japan is known for earthquakes. they know how to deal with them. but how does this compare to anything else you've experienced? >> well, this is nothing like i've ever experienced. and to be honest, it's very little like anything japan has ever experienced before. the last major earthquake, in 1923, the great earthquake which leveled the entire city, was only 7.9. this was 8.8. so, we're talking about something that was literally a level of magnitude different than anything that has really come before it. this really a scary experience for everybody involved. >> have you been out in the neighborhood at all? do you have any sense of the damage in tokyo? >> well, tokyo is very fortunate in that it's a very technologically advanced sort of place. and there are a lot of systems here in place to lessen the impact of earthquakes. so although there are sporadic fires, and there's a lot of issues in the city, for instance the trains have been stopped, and a lot of people are stranded downtown, but actual damage is fairly minimal, which is -- we're all very grateful for. it's up north where the real devastation is. >> how much information are you getting in terms of that devastation up north? >> most of the phones are jammed and there's very little information being exchanged by phone. people are dependent on the television, and also largely on social networking services like twitter. which people are using to exchange information. fortunately, although the phones cut out, the internet never stopped working the entire time, and that's allowed us all to keep in touch with each other, check on friends and family. >> have you been able to get through to friends and family? >> yes. fortunately my wife -- my wife's father, we went and checked in on him and he's doing fine. and her sister. and her children, they're all doing very well. so, we're once again very fortunate here in tokyo that there haven't been more casualties. >> and you're also feeling aftershocks. is that correct? >> yes, absolutely. it's going to be kind of a dicey evening, i think. darkness has fallen over the city right now, which kind of adds this whole new layer to this. and there have been regular aftershocks. there were four major ones immediately after the first tremor. and then, uncountable small ones. and so i think a lot of people are going to be sleeping with their jackets and their shoes near their beds tonight just in case they have to make a hasty exit. >> if they're able to fall asleep. matt alt, really appreciate you taking some time for us. >> no problem. >> now here's chris. >> erica, thank you. hawaii is bracing for the first waves from the tsunami which are expected to arrive just before 8:00 a.m. eastern time. our honolulu affiliate kgmb is there for us this morning. >> we are up on diamondhead lookout. diamondhead, of course, is the landmark of waikiki, what everybody flocks to see. right now we can see down at the ocean, even though it's pitch dark at the moment, that is what the waves look like right now. but at the last buoy reading out in the pacific ocean, the buoy reading read that the first waves to hit owe u hue is estimated to be around eight feet and that should hit around 3:20 in the morning hawaii time, which is about five hours behind new york time. now, because of that, evacuations have already begun in the inundation zone. anybody near the coastline is under a mandatory evacuation. now, as well as bracing for the tsunami, over on the south on the big island, they had a 4.5 earthquake a little bit earlier. now, 4.5 is not enough in and of itself to cause a tsunami. and fortunately there were not any injuries or damages as a result of that. but there's certainly a lot going on out here in hawaii. not only did we have our own small earthquake but we're waiting to see what the japanese earthquake has in store for us and waiting to see what the tsunami wave brings for us. we're going to stay camped out up here and wait and see. we'll bring you the latest pictures as soon as they become available. for now, tim sakahara for cbs news. now let's bring in earthquake scientist dr. lucy jones, head of the u.s. geological survey field office in pasadena, california, this morning. dr. jones, good morning. >> good morning. >> want to talk about this tsunami first. the waves generated from this earthquake expected to reach hawaii inside of the next hour. what can people there expect? >> well, they can expect -- they have the potential for significant flooding in the immediate coastal areas. the local authorities are going to be telling them how far in the water could be going. but the tsunami produces a rise in sea level, and looking at it being well in excess of a meter, as i understand the predictions coming in. the measurements that are going to be made there are going to help do a much better job of predicting exactly what could be hitting in california a few hours later. >> when those waves do come ashore, does all the water come in at once? or does it build over a period of time? >> well, it's actually a wave, and it goes in and out. and that's why in many cases, the largest wave actually is not the first one to come in. especially if -- the first one comes in at low tide and the later one at high tide you can see more damage later on. so it will be back and forth. people often report seeing the water withdraw before coming in, or maybe after coming in. it really is a wave going back and forth. and it's not -- it's not a crashing wave. it's rather a rise in the sea level. >> as far as the earthquake in japan, at 8.9, the fifth largest on record since 1900. with all of this seismic activity, and with all the aftershocks that they're feeling already, there have been some reports that there have been 19 already there. how many more aftershocks can they expect in that region? >> aftershocks will be continuing for years, maybe even decades from an earthquake this long. now, they won't be felt nearly as often. but we've already had about -- more than 15 above magnitude 6. so, that's very significant. it will continue that way. it's because the earthquake is so long. to be that high a magnitude, the magnitude is controlled by the size of the fault. and so to have an earthquake of 8.9, you need a fault many hundreds of miles long, and that's what we're seeing in this situation. and every one of those miles is going to be capable of producing aftershocks. >> the pacific rim has long been known as kind of the ring of fire because of the seismic activity out there. been pretty active lately. just had a 7-plus earthquake a few days ago. why is it so active now? and should people there expect a lot more of this type of action? >> well, aftershocks are triggered earthquakes. the 7.2 a couple of days ago, we would call a foreshock to this earthquake and it probably set it off in some way. so in that area, those hundreds of miles over which this earthquake happened, they're going to be continuing to have earthquakes for a long time. as you go away the distance, the rate's going to drop off really very rapidly. there's no reason, particularly, to think that we're having an overall increase in earthquakes. the last 12 months has had more than average. but well within normal variabili variability. >> dr. lucy jones, thank you very much for taking the time this morning. >> sure, thank you. >> now here's erica. >> we want to go now to the white house, where president obama has made a statement about the earthquake in japan. cbs news senior white house correspondent bill plante has more on that. bill, good morning. >> good morning to you, erica. early this morning the white house put out a statement from the president. it reads as follows, michelle and i send our deepest condolences to the people of japan. particularly those who've lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis. the united states stands ready to help the japanese people in this time of great trial. the statement goes on, the friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakable. and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of japan as they overcome this tragedy. we will continue, the president says, to closely monitor tsunamis around japan and the pacific going forward, and we are asking all our citizens of the affected region to listen to their state and local officials. as i have instructed fema to be ready to assist hawaii and the rest of the u.s. states and territories that could be afflicted. that's a statement from the president. no doubt we'll hear more from him at a news conference later today. erica? >> will plante at the white house this morning. bill, thanks. >> you have other news this morning. for that you have jeff glor at the news desk with a check of the other headlines. >> good morning to you. good morning, everyone. the rain continues in the waterlogged northeast this morning. in parts of new jersey, floodwaters keep rising after heavy rain again overnight. in some cases, sending overflowing rivers into streets. cbs news correspondent elaine quijano is in wayne, new jersey, with the latest this morning. elaine, good morning. >> good morning to you, jeff. well, the rain is just now tapering off here in northern new jersey. but overnight, up to five inches fell in some areas here. and the worst is likely not over yet. residents are certainly keeping an eye on the very swollen rivers. i'm standing, in fact, in the floodwaters of the passaic river, which is continuing to rise as we speak. in fact, forecasters are predicting that it will not crest until sunday. and when it does, it will be at 11 feet. that is a full four feet above flood stage. jeff? >> elaine quijano in wayne, new jersey. elaine, thanks. as early as today, wisconsin governor scott walker could sign a law that takes away most union rights from public workers. the state assembly passed that bill yesterday. after senate republicans on wednesday used a legislative maneuver to push the bill through, walker says the vote was critical to the state's financial health. >> other states have talked about cutting the same sorts of dollars we're looking to cut out of the state budget. the difference is, they don't give those schools and local governments the tools. we do. and that means we can protect middle-class jobs. and we can protect middle-class taxpayers. >> democrats say they'll wage a legal battle to overturn the legislation. in libya, gadhafi government forces have pushed rebel fighters out of a key oil port. most of the unorganized rebels fled east from ras lanuf, leaving only a handful guarding the road from the town. in tripoli, cbs' mark phillips spoke yesterday with gadhafi's son, who vowed to crush the 3-week-old rebellion. >> enough is enough. enough is enough. i have no mercy. >> you're just going to squash them? >> of course. of course. >> this morning witnesses report fresh air strikes deep in the eastern part of libya. that massive earthquake we've been talking about this morning in japan caused a huge sell-off this morning in asian stock markets. japan's nikkei and hong kong's hang seng lost nearly 2%. before all that, yesterday, the dow here plummeted more than 228 points. the nasdaq fell more than 50 points. it's 15 minutes past the hour. back over to erica and chris. >> all right, jeff, thank you. we'll catch back up with you in a couple minutes. >> we want to check in with marysol castro who has our first check of the national weather this morning. >> good morning, everyone. as you take a look at the national picture, it's actually very quiet across the lower 48. a high pressure system across much of the country. snow showers in the northern plains, and of course that storm that was all along the eastern seaboard is just about out here. take a look at the record-breaking rain this brought to portions of pennsylvania yesterday. mount pocono nearly 4 1/2 inches of rain. harrisburg nearly three inches of rain. and the nation's capital almost an inch and a half of rain. the storm is just about out of here. but look, it will bring a bit of rain, about a quarter of an inch of rain in philadelphia. one inch of rain in poughkeepsie, the further north you go. of course we're keeping an eye on the flood watches and warnings. they continue. remember it's been a brutal winter so all the snow that's already on the ground is just going to melt with all the rain, and of course we're looking at the passaic river, the >> thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now over to erica and chris. >> marysol, thanks. still ahead this morning, the latest on the catastrophic earthquake in japan. and those tsunami threats for the west coast. >> this is "the early show" on cbs. we'll be right back. ever wish vegetables didn't taste so vegetably? 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[ female announcer ] do you know scott? welcome back to "the early show" here on cbs. following major breaking news here in japan. a massive 8.9 earthquake triggers a massive tsunami, and you can see from the images here, erica, massive destruction all across this nation. >> these pictures tell such a story. the images are just astounding. there are waves of water that literally just rushed inland. you can see some of them here, wiping away cars, buildings, in this case, and this is being felt all the way across the pacific. there are tsunami warnings now in effect for the u.s. west coast. not just hawaii. we're talking about the entire west coast. really from mexico all the way up to canada. we're going to have the very latest for you on this quake, not only in japan, but as it's affecting the rest of the world. and of course the u.s. stay with us here for the latest on "the early show." >> this portion of "the early show" sponsored by hershey's syrup. stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? campbell's healthy request can help. low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat, and a healthy level of sodium. it's amazing what soup can do. it whitens and i bet your breath will still feel fresh after the movie. 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juice. and goodbye to added sugar. i thought we weren't adding any sugar. oh. okay, nobody use these cranberries over here. we're getting rid of an accident at harper and mount vista and the earlier accident at route 30 and butler, that's actually been cleaned up. we'll go out to the live shot at liberty road. you can see the congestion on the westside. for those traveling towards 95 and whitemarsh, you can see the traffic moving well in both directions. that's the last shot of the beltway. you can see the slowing on the left side. this is brought to you by home paramount. call home paramount pest control for more information or go to their website. there's a school closure in baltimore to tell you about. arlington baptist school will be closed today due to water main problems. this morning, marylanders are dealing with the damage caused by widespread flooding. wjz is live with the latest. good morning, andrea. a state of emergency is in effect and 40 national guard troops are on the ground. businesses in mount washington were evacuated at the height of the evening return, the water spilled out from the bottom of the parking lot. the heavy run off caused gallons to leak. in annapolis, the street was flooded. in harford county, authorities closed roads. many are reopened this morning. a federal jury indicted ten people in a tow truck scheme. they're accused of arranging from majestic to make repairs even though they're not authorized by baltimore. baltimore students, teachers and school leaders want the law makes to save funding they could lose under the state budgets. that could cut the money statewide. ,,,,,,,,,,,, ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] bursting with mouth-watering real fruit and refreshingly blended with creamy low-fat yogurt, mcdonald's strawberry-banana and wild berry smoothies are 100% pure sipping fun. the simple joy of real fruit smoothies. ♪ welcome back to "the early show" here on a friday morning. following this 8.9 breaking news massive earthquake which then triggered a huge tsunami in japan here this morning. the death toll continues to rise right now. the kyoto news agency saying the number is at 50 but that will sadly rise. the stories keep coming through moment by moment. >> we're even hearing from "uss washington" which is reporting that folks on board, on board that ship, a 60,000 ton aircraft carrier reporting that the force of it actually moved that ship. so that gives you an idea, along with those pictures. >> the good news with that, they are reporting that all u.s. servicemen are accounted for. all u.s. military installations are fully operational. >> right. >> they've got a fleet on standby and of course our base on okinawa. that is good news, they'll have the ability to help immediately, which is, as you can see, they're going to need. >> much of that will be needed. we're going to get you the very latest in a moment. we'll be speaking with the mayor of honolulu, hawaii bracing for a tsunami at this hour. first we want to check in with jeff glor who is standing by at the news desk with a look at some of the other headlines. >> the latest on the earthquake and the tsunami this morning. this morning a tsunami warning has been issued for the entire west coast of the united states and hawaii. following that major earthquake in japan. the tsunami triggered by overnight 8.9 magnitude quake slammed into the east coast of japan. these dramatic pictures you've been seeing all morning long. that giant wave swept away houses, boats, cars and trucks. the 8.9 magnitude quake is the largest recorded in japanese history. it was centered about 240 miles northeast of tokyo, where more than 4 million homes this morning are without power. police say at this point, at least 60 people have been killed. that number surely will rise. the quake triggered numerous fires, including one at an oil refinery as you can see. fire was also reported in the turbine building of a nuclear power plant near where the quake was centered. and in hawaii, residents are preparing for a possible tsunami heading their way. long lines of cars formed at gas stations in honolulu. estimates the tsunami in hawaii could be six to eight feet high when it reaches the island. we spoke to a reporter just as the tsunami warning sire renns were going off. >> these are very fast-moving events. we do have a very limited amount of data to work with. you can hear right now our civil defense sirens are going off. >> a moderate earthquake did shake hawaii's big island overnight. but scientists say it was not related to the japan quake. and with more on the quake now back over to erica. >> jeff, thanks. we want to go right now to honolulu where the player peter carlisle is standing by on the telephone. sir, thanks for taking some time for us this morning. the first waves are expected to hit hawaii within the hour. we know you have started evacuating, telling people to evacuate to higher ground. do you feel at this hour, especially being in the middle of the night, everyone who needs to move has done so? >> we've been given some forewarning in this. we got the first siren launched at 9:59. so we've had about five hours before we get to the actual hour of the expected inundation. so, we've been able to get out, do all of the things that we need to do, and people in hawaii have gone through these types of drills before, so they understand what they need to do. >> they understand what they need to do. the pacific tsunami warning center is saying they're expecting a wave height of about 6 1/2 feet. could be as high as 6 1/2 feet. are you prepared, locally, to deal with that aspect of it? >> i don't think if it's that size anybody's going to be prepared. we have done all of those things that we need to do to minimize the loss of human life. but i would anticipate, if they were that heights, we would have significant property damage, and inundation throughout most of the inundation zone. >> it sounds like, as much as anything can go well to this point, it is going well. what is your major concern right now? >> well, our major concern is exactly what's going to happen in 45 minutes. i mean, nobody is -- you have to understand tsunamis are extremely unpredictable. you never know the exact height of all the waves. you never know how many waves there are going to be. you don't know what the force and power of them is. so, it's a very significant issue. and so -- they can last for a long period of time. you might be having a tsunami incident that lasts for hours. so those are the types of things that you have to take into consideration, as you pleep for the worst and hope for the best. >> also for folks who live in hawaii, and for obviously officials there, you are prepared for this, you deal with this, as you mention, probably more than most people would like. however honolulu is a major tourist destination. how does this affect the tourists who are there? and how do you make sure they're doing everything they need to do to stay safe? >> we anticipate with anywhere from 85,000 to 120,000 tourists on the island on any given day that we have to be able to have our hotels jump in from the private sector and do those things to assist with the vertical evacuation of the hotels in waikiki. so if it's a concrete/steel structure as long as they're above the third floor, they're typically considered safe. so the hotels know exactly what to do, and they know what to tell their guests what to do. >> lastly, i know you mentioned this could last for hours. when you're able to get out there to assess the damage, when you know that it's safe, what are your first priorities? >> your first priorities are, one, to restore, to work first off to get people out of whatever danger they're in, and get them healthy. and then the next thing is start dealing with the property issues. and that can last for a long time. >> i would imagine. mayor peter carlisle, thanks for taking some time with us. we'll continue to monitor this. >> good luck. thank you. >> marysol castro is standing by now with another check of the weather for us. good morning again. >> good morning, erica. good morning, everyone at home. as you mentioned there are tsunami warnings in hawaii. also up and down the coast of california. we're looking at crescent city, california. san francisco, california, santa barbara harbor. of course they're expected some time between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. pacific standard time. these waves we're hearing could be anywhere between three and six feet. of course we're going to keep an eye on it for you. if you look at the forecast for this part of the country for today you'd never expect it. mostly sunny skies, 58 in eureka, 61 in san francisco. it is semibreezy. 5 to 15 miles per hour wind gusts. the other big story, the flooding rains in portions of the northeast. a quarter of an inch of rain in new york city. a quarter of an inch >> thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now over to chris and erica. >> mary, thanks. >> up next, how bad will this quake be for the world economy? >> we're already starting to see some of the impact. we'll take a look at just how long it could last right here. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. inside the 2011 dodge journey is an 8.4-inch touch screen that lets you control the stereo volume, radio tuning, climate controls, turn-by-turn navigation, and bluetooth activation -- technology inside technology controlling more technology. welcome to the future. now lease the new 2011 dodge journey mainstreet for $299 a month for well-qualified lessees. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm. all you expect from the number-one recommended detergent by dermatologists. all free clear is free of dyes and perfumes. and has powerful stainlifters to help get your whole wash clean. it's 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"cbs moneywatch" editor at large jill schlesinger is here to discuss exactly what this impact is going to be worldwide. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the economic impact. this is the world's third largest economy. how does that now trickle down? >> well, first of all, we don't know. it's early hours. but what i did, was i did look back to 1995. there was an earthquake in kobe, smaller magnitude, 6.9, but that earthquake did $100 billion worth of damage in the japanese economy. but the interesting thing was, the stock market in japan at that time recovered fairly quickly. so that may be a good model to look at. of course we're at different times today than we were in 1995. >> we say fairly quickly, what kind of time limit are we looking at? >> we saw literally within weeks that they recovered and actually started gaining ground. >> let's talk about the european markets now, and the markets there, i would think, after something like this, it would not reflect well. but how bad was it? >> in japan stocks were down 1.7%. european stocks were down over 1%. european stocks closed at three-month lows. of course, there's been a lot of other things going on in the world. specifically, the unrest in the middle east has really caused some concern about, will the economic recovery across the world become derailed? now, i personally don't think that's going to happen. but there's a lot of anxiety out there, and investors are feeling it. >> what about here in the u.s., coming off a bad dow on the dow yesterday? what's it going to look like today, do we think? >> yesterday we lost about 2%. dow down a couple hundred points. nasdaq and s&p also down. i thought it was quite interesting, though, we had this down day just a day after we had the two-year anniversary of a big, long bull run for stocks. so there's a few things going on here. you look at the stock market. unrest across the globe. but also, we've gone up almost 95% for stocks. twice the level we were two years ago. this is almost a healthy breather for the stock market. i think in our economy, what you suspect is, the carmakers, so we see honda, toyota, they're going to stop production. a company like sony is going to halt a lot of production, and so, in the near-term, our imports from those kinds of companies could be affected. in the long-term, hopefully, we see a very small loss of human life, and a limited economic impact. >> all right. jill schlesinger. thank you very much. >> good to be with you. >> stay with us, this is "the early show" here on cbs. we'll be right back. g÷ the smell of home made chili whatever scents fill your household, purina tidy cats scoop helps neutralize odors in multiple cat homes... keeping your house smelling like it should. purina tidy cats scoop. keep your home smelling like home. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? 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moving very quickly, as fast as 700 miles an hour these waves are going. bill whitaker is joining us from santa monica, from southern california, with more on how they're preparing there. bill? >> good morning, erica. i am on a bluff overlooking the pacific in santa monica. the entire california coast is now under a tsunami warning. and that means people who live on the beach or in low-lying areas should immediately get to higher ground. now, the tsunami waves are expected to start coming ashore between 7:00 and 8:30 pacific time. and the waves of about three to seven feet are expected to the north, north of santa barbara, with the biggest waves expected around crescent city, which is on the oregon border. smaller waves are expected here along the south coast. now don't be fooled by the size of those waves. they may not sound like much, but tsunami waves can move at the speed of a jetliner. which means when those waves come ashore, they pack a wallop. they can do a lot of damage. a lot of coastal flooding. so that's why beaches up and down the pacific coast have been closed. erica? >> that is why everyone is preparing this morning. bill whitaker in santa monica this morning. bill, thanks. we'll be right back with more. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. and showing it off? jergens ultra healing moisturizer. even my driest skin looks healthier, instantly. jergens is the difference between i'm here, and here i am. jergens®. the beautiful difference. funny how nature just knows how to make things that are good for you. new v8 v-fusion + tea. one combined serving of vegetables and fruit with the goodness of green tea and powerful antioxidants. refreshingly good. those of us who know grass doesn't turn green just because the calendar says to. and that a big difference can grow from a small budget. for those of us with grass on our sneakers... dirt on our jeans... and a lawn that's as healthy as our savings... the days are about to get a whole lot greener. ♪ more 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california/oregon state line. >> absolutely. the first wave is not necessarily the most devastating wave. and you know, of course, they're coming in to rapidly. apparently it takes anywhere from seven to eight hours for the wave to actually travel from its genesis. so we're looking at, you know, 7:00, right now, it's probably hitting around hawaii. the other interesting thing, is that many of the gauges in japan that are used to measure were destroyed. so now -- >> from the full height of the tsunami waves. >> correct. if you look at the pictures now. obviously super devastating. but at this point, actually gauging the high of the waves is going to be even more difficult because a lot of that was destroyed. if you're looking up and down the coast from washington state, oregon, california, we're looking at crescent city, we're looking at santa barbara, those waves are expected to be anywhere between three and six feet in height. again, those numbers are changing by the hour. of course we're going to keep an eye on it. >> marysol, thanks. we'll be back with more. parentheses have a place. but not on your face. juvéderm® xc is the gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out lines right here. temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps, or risk of infection. ask your doctor about juvéderm® xc. hello again, we've a live look at the inner harbor. we'll begin with marty. well, much calmer weather in the area now. we'll look at the watches, warnings and advisories. we'll see it until 3:00 counties next to the bay. now, they're trying to absorb the rainfall from yesterday. taking it out in washington, frederick and montgomery county. 56-degrees is the highs in the mid-40s. we'll send it to parker shane now. good morning, marty, it's been a quiet morning accept for the flooding we were talking about. the volume is building. this is from liberty here. the average is 40. along the 95 corridor heading southbound past whitemarsh, we have delays. the average speed is 46 miles per hour. we have an accident at philadelphia to the bellway and a new one at harford and putty hill. this is the beltway at liberty road. and there's getting a little bit of volume there. this is brought to you by home paramount. rid your home of mites and spiders or anything like that. we have a school close yore to tell you about. the arlington baptist school is closed today. that's in baltimore. heavy rain caused flooding throughout the state. andrea fujii has the story. >> reporter: jessica, a state of emergency is in effect. 40 national guard troops are on the ground. because of all of the rain, the businesses in the area along the jones falls were evacwait. at the -- evacuated. at the height of the rush, the run off ran off. it caused 10,000-gallons of untreated sewage to leak. in harford county, many roads were closed and they're we opening this morning. stay with us, up next, another live report from tokyo with the latest on the devastating earthquake after math. also, we'll have an update also, we'll have an update on the ericaca extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. sink your teeth into some big n' toasty if you understand. good. you've got spunk. a big day calls for the new big n' toasty. wrap your hands around fried eggs, cherrywood-smoked bacon, and cheese on texas toast. america runs on dunkin'. welcome back to "the early show" on a friday morning where we are following breaking news for you this morning out of japan. a deadly earthquake, magnitude 8.9, rocking northeastern japan. triggering a massive tsunami. you can see the effects of it there. waves just taking away everything in their path, as if they are toys. and those seeming toys include things like cars, buildings, people on top of the sendai airport there going to higher ground looking to stay out of the wake of this. >> that airport relatively new, right there on the ocean, is now, as you can see, just about been obliterated right there. you talk about the magnitude of an 8.9 earthquake, the aftershocks, subsequent aftershocks. they've had roughly 19 so far. some as high as 7.4. so it is very, very active seismically right there. and the devastation, you can see from the images, which are just indescribable. >> and it is understandably a terrible day in japan. we know at this hour at least 60 people are dead. that number is, of course, expect the to rise. dozens of others are missing. the damage from both the earthquake and the tsunami, those aftershocks, it stretches for hundreds of miles. cbs' lucy craft is in tokyo this morning, about 230 miles south of the city closest to the epicenter of that quake. and she joins us with more. >> good morning. tokyo streets are crowded with commuters right now. stranded in the city, trying to get home on foot, because tokyo's normally hyperefficient train system has been paralyzed by this massive temblor. the quake unleashed a huge tsunami. the red cross said the wall of water was higher than some pacific islands. the water swept cars, trucks, boats and whole buildings over farmland that offered no resistance. some homes along the water were in flames, the fires probably triggered by burst gas pipes. at sendai's airport many rushed to the top of a tall building to escape. scores of uncontrolled fires burned up and down japan's 1300 mile eastern coast. in tokyo, large office buildings shook violently, and continued to sway for more than 30 minutes. office workers hurried onto the streets. black smoke poured from at least one office building. a state of emergency was issued when the cooling system at one nuclear power plant failed. however, there was no radiation leaks. the quake is said to be the largest in japan's recorded history. >> no radiation leak, lucy. and i understand that a number of nuclear power plants were shut down, and shut down and everything was fine. >> yes, that's what we're hearing right now. no radiation leaks is what the government is telling us. >> lucy craft joining us in tokyo this morning. we now want to take a look at the impact here in the u.s. the west coast, where the first waves from that tsunami could be just a couple of hours away at this point. some low-lying coastal areas have been evacuated. cbs news correspondent bill whitaker is in santa monica, california, with more on that this morning. bill, good morning. >> good morning. now, the entire west coast is now under a tsunami warning. as we were saying earlier, what that means is if you live along the beach or are in low-lying areas, you must get away to higher ground immediately. now they're expecting waves to start coming ashore around san francisco area, starting around 8:15 eastern time this morning. a small community is now being evacuated. there's a stretch of the coastal highway around san francisco that has been closed down. waves of about three to seven feet are expected along the northern coast of california. smaller waves expected down here in southern california. but again, don't be fooled by the size of those waves. the tsunami comes in with a powerful punch and those waves can move far inland and do lots of coastal damage. now, we're expecting the waves, as we say, to start coming in san francisco area around 8:15, and slowly move down the coast. we might be looking at waves hitting here in southern california about 8:45. so right now, beaches up and down the coast have been closed and people here are just waiting. back to you. >> waiting, and evacuating to higher ground. bill whitaker in santa monica. bill, thanks. now here's chris. >> and joining us now from washington is david applegate, a senior science adviser on earthquakes for the u.s. geological survey. mr. applegate, good morning. >> good morning. >> within the next hour or so, we're expecting hawaii to feel the impact of this tsunami. they're predicting waves of about 6 to 8 feet right there. just how far inland could these waves go? and what type of damage are we potentially looking at? >> well, the extent of the inland flow, of course, depends a great deal on what we call the coastal morphology. this is a key point as the focus is on identifying a single number for how high the wave may be, but whereas the wave travels very efficiently, of course inkredbly fast in the open ocean, when it comes in to the mostline it's going to be slowed down, and its shape, and the strength is going to be very dependent on the specific shape of any given cove, any given coast. so it can really vary dramatically. >> we're looking at pictures right now of the wave, the tsunami in japan, just how it basically decimates anything in its path from cars to buildings. bill whitaker mentioned it briefly, that, yeah, a six-foot wave doesn't sound that impressive. but you even alluded to just how fast these waves can -- can you just kind of describe to people in layman's terms just how quickly this wave approaches? >> well, in the open ocean, water turns out to be a very efficient transmitter of energy. so once thissize mick energy has been released into the ocean, off the coast of japan, it's traveling across the open ocean at speeds around 500 miles an hour. but what happens is when it comes in to land, and it becomes shallower, it essentially backs up on itself. that's where you can build up wave height very dramatically. the key difference from a typical wave is that, you know, one that comes in every few seconds, comes in, comes out. this one just keeps on coming. and it's that relentlessness that is the -- what we certainly see in the case of japan. of course, that's the big concern on any coast that is vulnerable, and why it's important to get to high ground. >> kind of on a separate beat here, people in california are now kind of waiting over the next couple hours to see what effects they have there. you see all the seismic activity in japan. should -- i mean, there hasn't been a major episode in california in a long time. we're hearing about a little tremor in hawaii. should there be any reason, any cause for alarm along the west coast? >> well, not from necessarily from this specific event. but it is a reminder that, of course in california, and in many parts of the u.s., that we live in earthquake country. the very same forces that are at work off the coast of japan, the subdukz zone where one plate is diving down beneath the other, we have the exact same situation off the coast of alaska. we have it off the coast of the pacific northwest. and, indeed, we've generated tsunamis off of our northwest coast that reached japan itself. >> all right. david applegate, thank you for taking the time and spelling it all out for us this morning. we appreciate it. >> sure thing. >> all right. >> it is a busy friday morning. some other news to get to this morning. that's why jeff glor is standing by at the news desk. jeff, good morning. >> very busy morning. good morning, everyone. wisconsin governor scott walker could sign legislation today that takes away many union bargaining rights for public workers. the state assembly passed the bill yesterday following weeks of protest and debate. walker says his opponents are missing the point. >> the problem is, those aren't rights. because the federal government, under barack obama, federal employees, do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits. they aren't about rights. it's ultimately about how do you balance the budget? and in this case we actually empower good workers. >> iowa, indiana, ohio and some other states are considering similar legislation. in libya this morning, moammar gadhafi's libya is pushing back rebel forces. rebels hope to make another stand near a key oil port in libyan army control. gadhafi's son told cbs's mark phillips the rebel militia is already beaten. >> do you think you've broken the back of this rebellion? >> hundred offense. in fact we are fighting -- they were less than 1,000. 800. 800 people. >> that's the strength you estimate? >> this is the whole strength and power of the militia. >> witnesses say there were new libyan air attacks on rebel-held towns this morning. the controversial house hearing on whether american muslims are being radicalized by terrorists became very emotional yesterday. that hearing was led by congressman peter king, who says muslim leaders need to speak out more against terrorism. but keith ellison, one of two muslim congressmen broke down, recalling a muslim paramedic who was killed on 9/11. >> he was not identified as just a member of an ethnic group or just a member of a religion. >> the white house said muslim americans are part of the solution, they said, and not the problem. flooding problems persist in the east this morning. some areas have received more than four inches of rain. new jersey and maryland have declared states of emergency, and 27 states have issued flood advisories. the worst is yet to come in northern new jersey, with several rivers expected to crest above flood stage over the weekend. and another twist in the charlie sheen story. police raided his mansion overnight. the l.a. pd says it was a search for guns that might violate a restraining order against sheen obtained by his es changed wife. they removed one weapon described as an antique gun. sheen later tweeted that the police were, quote awesome and they could protect and serve this warlock any time, unquote. katie couric has a preview now of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> good morning. rehabilitating the mind, and the body. we that's a look at the weather >> this weather report sponsored by ashley furniture, the number one name in furniture. >> thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now back over to chris and erica. >> all right, mary, thank you. >> stay with us. we'll be right back with more. you're watching "the early 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>> well, they were certainly pretty alarming, i can tell you that. i like many of the 100,000 tourists who are on the islands here was completely confused by the noise and what was going on. you know, i'm not used to tsunami warnings. i know people in hawaii probably learn about them at school but there are a lot of tourists here. i'm in waikiki. i'm in my hotel room. i'm on the eighth floor. and i'm part of what they call a vertical evacuation. making sure that the tourists who are above the third floor stay in their rooms, and they don't wander around and try to get photographs of the waves. i think that has been the biggest concern here. but in terms of hearing the audible warnings, they were pretty loud. they've been pretty consistent. and there were extraordinary scenes in the shops just below me here of people rushing in, buying water, dry food, alcohol, anything they could get, so obviously people were concerned that they were taking it seriously. >> you mentioned that you're in a hotel. there's been a lot of focus on the tourists. as the mayor told us anywhere between 85,000 and 120,000 tourists at any given time. how has the hotel responded? are they bringing extra provisions to you? >> well, certainly they've been keeping us in touch with developments. but you sense that they are trying to feel their way through this, as well. they're getting information, i presume, from the mayor's office. they're trying to communicate it to us. i mean, it wasn't that they called us, we called down to them, first of all, and they said look, just stay where you are. you're not in the immersion zone, you're in a safe area, but just stay above a certain height. and there are a number of people, i can look outside the balcony of my room here and i can see there are a number of people with their telephoto lenses trained on the ground waiting for the waves to hit. but people seem to be pretty sensible. i don't see many people out on the streets. >> everybody else seems to be heeding the warning. i know you said above the third floor they want you to stay in your rooms. or is it just that you have to stay sort of on that floor? have people been milling around in the hallways? are you getting a sense of how people are feeling about this? >> they certainly were earlier on. and there were a number of people out on the beach, as well. you know, and i don't think everybody was taking it entirely seriously. but i think after a succession of warnings and maybe, you know, people were crowding around television screens, you know, and i think that's when they got a sense of just the scale of what was going on in japan that this wasn't a joke. you know, there was a tsunami warning they heard last year in hawa hawaii, after the chilean earthquake in february and that didn't really amount to much. and maybe that, some people were thinking well, by the time it reaches us, it may have petered out. but i think there is a genuine concern here among many tourists that this is obviously a big event. they don't want to take any risks. looking out my balcony, i'm not seeing many people moving around. >> we're looking at live pictures now. it's a little dark but we can make out the white parts of the waves as they're starting to come ashore. hawaii is also a huge tourist destination for the japanese. did you happen to see when you were out and about a little bit late tonight any japanese tourists that you could make out? and if so, were you able to speak with any of them? >> you can't move without bumping into japanese tourists here. they are everywhere. at japanese restaurants. it's obviously a very strong influence here. i didn't speak to any of them. but you can just imagine what it's been like for them, because, you know, just a few minutes after the news of it spreading around here, the mobile phone service basically went. so, trying to get in touch with home, of course, must have been very difficult for many of them. wi-fi has been relatively solid in my hotel, at least. so i imagine if any of them are trying to contact that way, but trying to get like that it's very difficult to see. >> have you been given any indication from other local authorities, or from the hotel, at what point you'll be allowed to move around freely and safely again? >> what they've made very clear is that this is not a single event. this could be one wave followed by another wave. we could be talking about hours. so, they're saying, you know, just listen and wait for further instructions. don't expect this is just one wave and then you can get out there. you know, the potential for more devastating -- and we have to wait for advice. >> robert he we appreciate you giving us this glimpse of what's happening in honolulu right now. from sky news right now from honolulu this morning. stay with us. we'll be right back with more. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. but the nicoderm cq patch gradually steps you down off of nicotine in just three steps, doubling your chances for success. nicoderm cq. 3 steps, 10 weeks and you're free. nicoderm cq. how are you getting to a happier place? running there? dancing there? how about eating soup to get there? campbell's soups fill you with good nutrition, farm-grown ingredients, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. welcome back to "the early show" here on cbs. you're looking at live pictures of diamond head, hawaii. waves in the background, they don't look that impressive right now. but we're getting early reports of waves starting to hit the hawaiian island of kauai right now. early reports are tsunami waves ,,,,,,,, ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] bursting with mouth-watering real fruit and refreshingly blended with creamy low-fat yogurt, mcdonald's strawberry-banana and wild berry smoothies are 100% pure sipping fun. the simple joy of real fruit smoothies. hello again, it's 8:25. >> sunshine's never looked so good, has it? >> temperatures are in the mid- 40s now. >> today and tomorrow and in certain locations we can aol have thetic -- locations we'll have the echo of the storm. all of the water is trying to get into the streams. also, note, washington, frederick and montgomery counties have a flood warning in effect. that's the potomac watershed. breezy from time to time. we'll mention a chance of an afternoon shower. now, over to parker shane. good morning. we have fire activity in both directions between hood mill and eattonville. westside valley, you can see 58 miles per hour, clearing out. northside, that's from providence to the harrisburg expressway. 95 corridor looks good. today, through the 13th at timonium fairground, discount tickets for the home and garden show. thank you. a school closure to tell you about. the arlington baptist school will be closed this morning. heavy rains caused flooding across the state. andrea stays on the story. >> reporter: a state of emergency is in effect. 40 national guard troops are on the ground. businesses in the mount washington area were evacuated. at the height of the evening rush, run off spread on to i-83 north. heavy run off caused 10,000 gallons of sewage to leak. in annapolis,the street was flooded. in harford county, the authorities closed the roads. jessica, back to you. a well known local actor, noopll known local actor, arrested. she was one of 60 arrested in a drug raid. the police aren't saying what charges she faces. she was found not guilty of a minor charge in 2008. hundreds will gather downtown and show their irish day parade. it starts at washington street and goes to the inner harbor. festivities start sunday at 2:00. up next, spring is just around the corner. how to welcome the warmer weather with fresh spring cocktails. and why these are the latest and we'll have them over on friday nights for dinner. so when i shop, i do buy a lot of things at once. it helps me to save money. now at giant, you can save more every time you shop. take advantage of thousands of weekly specials, real deals, 10-for-10s, and more. and watch the savings rack up. we get to visit with our friends. the kids get to visit with their friends, and we're doing it so low budget. that works for me. more savings every time you shop with your giant card. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? 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[ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena® naturals. and welcome back to "the early show" at half past the hour where we are following breaking news. you're looking at live pictures of diamond head in hawaii where it is 3:30 a.m. and we are being told that on the island of kauai the first waves as part of the tsunami making its way across the pacific have begun to hit the shores. again, hawaii now feeling the first effects of the tsunami, which was generated by an 8.9 magnitude quake in japan. >> just to kind of give you a quick recap of what's been going on, if you're just waking. a massive earthquake, 8.9, largest registered earthquake to hit japan. fifth largest in the world. i mean, we're going way, way back, obviously. and these are ground pictures taken by sky news earlier, when this quake struck. 19 aftershocks, some as high as 7.4. and the devastation is widespread. it triggered a tsunami. a 113-foot wall of mud and basically decimated everything in its path. it's unbelievable to see just the devastation. on a widespread scale now. >> we do know at this hour, the news agency in japan is reporting at least 60 dead was the last number. a number of people missing. the death toll is sadly expected to rise. there will be, of course, a full assessment of the damage and we'll keep you updated on the very latest on that. we do want to check in with >> thanks so much. that's your latest weather. now over to chris. >> all right, marysol, thank you very much. now we want to go back out to the west coast right now where they're waiting to feel some of the ripple effects from the tsunami that was triggered by an 8.9 earthquake in japan yesterday. let's go to bill whitaker right now, who's in santa monica, california, for us this morning. bill, good morning. >> good morning, jeff. we now have tsunami warnings up and down the west coast. what that means is people to live in beach communities, people who live in low-lying communities, are urged to get to higher ground right now. now the tsunami waves are not expected to hit for perhaps another hour. they're supposed to start coming ashore about 7:00 pacific time. and move from north to south with waves hitting here in the southern part of the state starting around 8:00. but, right now, we're in a holding pattern and a waiting pattern. the waves are expected to reach a height of about seven feet at their highest. that's expected to be in the north around the city of crescent city, which is just near the oregon border. and smaller waves are expected to hit here along the southern coast. as we were saying earlier, though, don't be fooled by the size of those waves. the tsunami waves can come in at the speed of a jetliner. and they pack a serious wallop. so if they do come ashore, we can be looking at some serious coastal damage here. so right now we're having cities that are being evacuated. one small town south of south africa, pacifica, people are being evacuated from that town. we've had some flights that have been canceled. flights leaving from here in los angeles going to tokyo have been canceled. so at this point, people are trying to react to the tsunami. we're hoping that people are listening to these warnings and are heeding these warnings, and people who live along the coast should get to higher ground. jeff? >> all right, bill. i'm going to take it. erica, over to you. >> we're going to go to tokyo at this point to check in with tom buyer who is an american living in tokyo. he joins us this morning via skype. tom, thanks for taking some time for us. just set the scene. have you felt any aftershocks recently? are they still going on? >> yes, the aftershocks are still continuing. we just had one about five or ten minutes ago. they tapered off quite a bit. but it's 10:30 at night here. the earthquake hit a little bit before 3:00 in the afternoon, and the aftershocks just came like wave after wave. like continuously for a few hours. >> it looked like your shot was just shaking a little bit there. were you just experiencing one? >> well, you know, i almost can't tell anymore. it shakes so much it's like my wife was just sitting next to me a little while ago and sometimes you can feel it, sometimes you can't. >> it's incredible to think of that as you describe it. when you felt the initial ones, and the initial quake, japan is known for its earthquake. if you lived there for a little bit of time, you have likely felt them. how was this one different? >> well, i've been here for 25 years. so i've been through them all. usually how you sit at the table. you learn to live with them. but this one was special. you could just tell. i mean, it was just -- it wouldn't stop. and it just kept getting stronger and stronger. and you know, we're kind of trained for it, most people who live here. but when it really hits, it's like you lose memory. you don't know what to do. you're in such a panic. luckily i was at home. i've got two small boys, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, that i just picked up from school. so it was quite scary. >> how are they doing? >> they're fine. i mean, they were, you know, we put them under the table. i mean, just so many things go through your mind. you're supposed to open windows, you're supposed to open doors. you're supposed to stand in doorways. but i'm telling you, nothing can really prepare you for when it really, really comes. >> especially one of this magnitude. you said you had just picked up your boys, 5 and 2 from school. is this something that kids learn about in terms of dealing with earthquakes in school in japan, like in areas in this country where you learn about how to deal with a tornado? >> absolutely. i mean, this is the real big difference, probably, if you compare to what happened in thailand, and down in end meesh yeah several years ago. because japan is quite prepared. i mean, we just live with hit 24/7 and the kids, the teachers, everybody involved, they know exactly what they're supposed to do. although, you know, i thought that i new what to do, as well. but you kind of lose it in the moment. but, you know, luckily most of the schools had gotten out by 3:00. the big problem now is, is that there's so many people stranded, and can't get home from work. >> and that's because they're stranded in tokyo. the trains are still shut down, as i understand it, at this hour. it is a huge city, obviously. so everybody commuting in, are there people trying to walk home at this point? or are they just camping out in their offices? >> there's everything. you hear stories of people in their buildings. my office actually is in downtown gnisa which is kind of like being in manhattan and my workers are all just staying in the office. they can't get out. there's no trains going anywhere. there are very few taxis that you could get in the beginning. they're scarce now. so, you know, people are just stranded. >> have you been able to assess any of the damage at all? is it safe to go outside? >> yeah, it's fine. nothing really is -- you can't really see anything here in tokyo. i mean, we're lucky. there are some fires still that are burning out of control in surrounding areas, but most of it is isolated to power facilities. and you know, just a lot of maybe broken -- we had broken glass inside our touchen here. but you're not going to see knockdown biddings and things like that, i don't believe, inside tokyo. but i haven't really been outside. i've just been glued to the television watching all of the coverage, which there's plenty of. >> understandably. most of us are glued to it, as well. tom appreciate you taking some time for us. >> you're welcome. >> we want to go back to the west coast now. some of the highest waves are expected along the oregon/california border. reporter chad carter is in seaside, oregon, for us right now. chad, good morning your time. can you hear me? >> yes, absolutely, chris. i can hear you. good morning to you. >> what's the update out there? what's going on right now? >> well, right now, just within the last two minutes or so, we started to hear the warning announcements coming from the audible speakers that are high atop towers here up and down the oregon coast. we've been hearing those sirens and hearing reports of them happening up and down the long stretch of the oregon coast. but here in seaside, this is the first time we've been hearing them. to give you a live look out here this morning, and it is dark to see i know that. but we are right on the edge of the ocean. we're standing on a little bit of a bay here. there's a peninsula, really protecting us a little bit from the main open ocean. we're up about 25 feet or so off the ground. we are expecting about one to three feet of a wave or a surge to come onshore. now that's not expected to happen until about 7:15, 7:30 pacific time. so it is folks around this area are taking pro-active measures. i spoke with the emergency management team here in the seaside area a short while ago. they tell me that they are taking the emergency measurement procedures very seriously. this is a very hardy group that live here on the oregon coast. they have to deal with these kinds of things, not frequently, but upon occasion. so they've asked folks to go ahead and voluntarily evacuate from east and head inland away from the low-lying areas, and they say that is right now the approach that they're taking. however, of course, if things change they might have to step that up to mandatory evacuations. but right now that is certainly not the case. chris? >> chad, you talk about this being a kind of rough and tumble bunch down there when they hear one to three foot waves, probably don't think much of it. what do officials need to convey to these folks saying this is not your average one to three foot rise in surf? >> sure. well, i think just by the sheer fact that we're hearing the audible announcements from those warning sirens this morning, takes this automatically to the next level. we don't hear that very often here on the oregon coast. we will get occasional tsunami warnings, or advisories, but at this point i think the sheer fact that they're notifying people through these -- through this technology, and then also in some areas going door-to-door to low-lying areas and trying to make sure that people are aware that the evacuation is a good idea, that's really what they're trying to do right now. and on our drive over here in the early morning hours here on west coast time we saw quite a bit of people on highway 26 heading back towards portland, it's about an hour and a half drive on a good day. might be a little slower this morning. and looks like a few of the lights here might have been flickering just a little bit. and also one other note, you can't see it right now, but -- actually i am seeing it off in the distance. we're hearing more of those warning sirens going off. we saw a police car cruising the beach off in the distance over there utesing a spotlight. scanning the beach, scanning the water. making sure no one was unnecessarily down by the water to make sure they were safe at this point in time. >> chad, sounds like the officials there are doing a good job of alerting the people that there is some potential imminent danger on the way. we hear the horn. what was the announcement you were talking about earlier? what exactly is being said over that announcement to the residents in that area? >> from what i could hear they were reiterating the fact that there is a tsunami warning in the area, and that the evacuation routes should be taken, and that folks should be advised that this is under way. again, it's not a mandatory evacuation but they are encouraging people to go ahead and move inland. there are signs all up and down the oregon coast that say tsunami evacuation route. you follow those signs they'll take you to higher ground or at least further east to where the ocean or the water won't be able to reach. so right now, what we're hearing is literally a tsunami warning is in effect. you know, take higher ground. >> all right. chad carter from our cbs affiliate out in oregon, koin-tv. thanks so much for taking the time. stay safe out there. you're hearing it's not a mandatory evacuation. it is voluntary at this point. the other thing we need to remember, you can see it's still dark out there. it's very early and there are people just waking to those sirens and not even knowing that there's been an earthquake that only happened hours ago. >> that's right. >> in japan. >> so everybody is focused on that. again just a reminder, too, the first waves from the tsunami have, in fact, hit u.s. shores. coming ashore in kauai about 8:07 eastern time. just after 3:00 a.m. local time there. we're going to continue to keep our focus on those waves as they move from hawaii over to the west coast. we'll bring you the very latest on the earthquake and those tsunamis and their impact as "the early show" continues. with fios, when you're watching the picture, it just jumps out at you. -it was like, "wow!" -bam! 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[ male announcer ] get fios tv, internet and phone for this great price, plus $100 back. call 1.866.699.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.866.699.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. live pictures, again, for you of diamond head, hawaii, where it is about quarter of 4:00 a.m. you're seeing the waves from the tsunami begin to come ashore there. we know they have already come ashore on the island of kauai, that happened just about 40 minutes ago. as we continue to follow the very latest on the tsunami which resulted from this magnitude 8.9 earthquake in japan. less than 12 hours ago. but boy what an impact it is having. it is also impacting travel this morning, as you can imagine. joining us with more on the latest there is cbs news correspondent nancy cordes. she's in washington with the latest on that. nancy, good morning. >> good morning, erica. we've been speaking to some of the airlines who had to make some quick decisions overnight about what to do about their flights that were heading to and from japan. so united airlines told us they had to divert seven flights that were bound from the u.s. to tokyo's narita airport overnight. sending those jets to a variety of cities, including osaka, seoul, and anchorage, alaska. continental airlines diverted one flight, and today, united says it's going to be canceling ten flights. so far from the u.s. to narita. continental canceling one flight. and they're monitoring the situation very closely, they say. they are meeting constantly to determine whether flights should be canceled. and they're also watching the situation in hawaii very closely, because all of the major airports in hawaii on kauai, on oahu, on maui are very close to the ocean. they're on sea level. in some cases they're right on the ocean. this is a very serious situation for the airlines. luckily most of their flights that head to hawaii don't take off until the afternoon. so they do have a little bit of breathing room to watch what goes on there. >> if you can also give us an interesting personal perspective. you grew up on the island of hawaii. your family is still there. have you been in touch with them? and how are they handling the situation there this morning? >> i have talked to my parents, erica. thank you. and yes, it was a pretty tense past couple of hours, knowing exactly when this tsunami, when these waves were going to hit. they're fine. they do live on a hill, so they're on high ground right now. they didn't have to head to high ground. but, so many people that i know and love do live at the ocean, and it's pretty scary. of course people in hawaii are used to tsunami warnings. we learn when we're children in school how to deal with them. you're used to hearing the sirens from time to time. but in this case, it really felt a lot different because you saw those pictures in japan, all that devastation can't help but make you nervous and shake you out of your complacency. >> absolutely. you mentioned that these are things you learn about as children in school. are people pretty quick to heed these warnings and follow these evacuation orders? >> they are. but at the same time, it's kind of strange, because you have all this lead time. people in hawaii last night were heading to the grocery store to stock up on supplies. they were going to get gas almost the way you would in advance of a hurricane. because they did have this big lead time, knowing that the tsunami if it did hit wouldn't hit for six hours. there was a lot of traffic heading away from the coastal areas up to the hillsides, i'm told, away from the ocean. but, no mass panic because, again, people did have a lot of time to move to higher ground. >> it is quite a story. and a fluid one at that. nancy, good to have you with us. thanks for the personal perspective, too, gives us a better idea of how people are dealing with it there. sure thing. now here's chris. >> let's go back to honolulu, reporter teri okita is there this morning. ter yi good morning. >> good morning, chris. it's about 3:50 in the mark here in honolulu. >> what is the situation right now? where do we stand? >> well, we're at the state civil defense where hawaii governor neil abercrombie has been meeting with his advisers all evening and into the morning. the first waves hit the island of kauai at about seven after the hour and that wave subsequently came to oahu where we are, where honolulu is and waikiki and all the landmarks at about 21 minutes after the hour. tsunami expert just came out to tell us that this is a preliminary. this first wave was just a preliminary wave and they shouldn't read anything into this. because it's going to be a second, and a third and a series of waves that are going to come after that. the residents here in honolulu that we saw last night really took heed, they were -- we saw long lines at the grocery store. long lines at the gas stations. and they were really prepared for this. the tourists on oahu and across the island have been under this kind of evacuation plan. it's a visitors safety and security plan that all the hotels have put out. they're told to go to higher ground, higher elevations, higher floors in their hotels, and to not venture out at all onto the beaches. so pretty much everybody's been heeding the warnings at this point. this tsunami warning, the people are pretty prepared for it, because a little over a year ago, february of last year, there was a tsunami scare after the earthquake in chile, and people are pretty prepared for this. nothing happened in that tsunami scare. let's hope nothing happens in this one. but the warning will be in effect until 7:00 a.m. local time. >> so the all-clear is still a few hours away. people see oh, there's no real massive waves out there, it's not safe to go back to the beaches just yet. >> it won't be safe for several hours. because of those series of waves that are going to come. and the tsunami experts just don't know what's going to happen with those waves. >> all right. teri okita for us this morning in hawaii. teri, thank you. >> and we will continue to follow thisry for you here on cbs and also at cbsnews.com. so be sure to stay withs through. but just to recap for you an 8.9 magnitude quake hit northern japan. off the coast of northern japan overnight. it happened just about quarter of 3:00 local time. we are hearing the press reporting japan police say now 200 to 300 bodies have been found in that coastal area up there. japanese news agency, kyoto news reporting at least 60 dead. that number obviously expected to rise. all you have to do is look at the pictures to know that. >> what we're getting right here from a u.s. standpoint. fema's national response coordination center region nine which is parts of the west coast at level one now, which is their highest priority activation as we continue to wait to see what type of residual damage there is from the tsunami here when it hits -- when it gets through hawaii and makes its way to the west coast. and also u.s. search and rescue teams are standing by and ready to be deployed because their services will be called upon as we have seen with the devastation in japan. >> that's right. and again, we'll continue to follow it. thank you for being with us this morning on "the early show." this is obviously a story that started out in japan but this has implications across the globe. we are, again, feeling part of it here in the united states. we'll continue to feel more. we'll have a full wrap-up for you tonight on t t,,,, [ mom ] can a little bowl of cereal change your life? 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[ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. gluten free. host: could switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? host: what, do you live under a rock? man: no way! man: hey rick check this out! anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save 15% or more on car insurance. hello again, let's make it a long weekend. it's a beautiful day. we'll look at the watches, warnings and advisories. today and tomorrow will be the echoes of yesterday's storms. because of that, we'll have coastal flashings in effect. -- coastal flood warnings in effect. so, we have to be on the lookout for the streams coming out of the bank. also, frederick and washington and month good morning i- counties are on the watershed. that's moving downstream. we'll watch this all later on today. breezy and clouds and a high near 56. marty, thank you, many marylanders are dealing with the widespread flood damage. >> reporter: jessica, a state of emergency is in effect and 40 national guard troops are on the ground. because of the rain, businesses were evacuated. at the height of the evening rush, run offs spread on to i- 83 north. heavy run off caused 10,000- gallons of untreated sewage to leak and in annapolis, the streets look flooded. in harford county, the authorities closed roads. jessica, back to you. a federal jury indicts ten city police officers and a car repair shop owner and an employee in a tow truck scheme. they're accused of using a nonauthorized tow company and getting paid for it. the arrest of a well known nooparrest of a well known pearson, who played on "the wire" is one of 64 people charged in a drug raid. annapolis has a final vote on same sex marriage today. if the house approves the bill, it will go to the governor's desk. governor o'malley said he would sign it into law. the opponents are threatening forcing it into a referendum. hundreds are rallying to ask the lawmakers to keep their promise. they braved the rain to win back the funding they would lose under the state budget. that's cut the budgets by 94% nationwide. day may not be until next week, but this weekend, hundreds will celebrate at the annual 5k. the race is sunday at 1:00 p.m. downtown. 45 runners are expected. day parade will follow. stay with us, ,, and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. call now and you'll get this special bonus: $100 back. there's no term contract required. if you don't absolutely love fios, you can cancel anytime with no early termination fee. fios is a 100% fiber-optic network that delivers the best channel lineup, superior picture quality, and more hd, plus the fastest internet in the u.s. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month -- plus $100 back. this is a limited time offer, so don't wait. call 1.877.827.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.827.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. get the network that delivers more. get fios. a network ahead. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

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