Canadians reached in Hawaii say they're bracing for a six-foot wave to hit the coast within the next hour.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile last night, triggering a tsunami that is expected to affect the coastal areas of Asia and North America, including the B.C. coast. The earthquake has killed at least 147 people in Chile, according to official reports.

David and Joy Bates say they are safe but have a birds-eye view of the beach the wave is expected to hit in Waikiki.

"We're on the 35th floor (of their condo unit) so we're OK," says Joy. "David's got his binoculars and his camera ready." The couple say they are about 4 blocks from the beach.

Joy says people are being told to go to the third story of their building as a precaution.

"The Civil Defense has been sounding the sirens every hour since 6 a.m.," says Joy.

Castanet Media Ltd. owner Nicholas Frost is also in Waikiki on vacation and agrees things are calm. "I'm looking at the boats out in the water - there are about 200 boats out in the water because they don't want them in the harbour." The rest of the boats are docked.

Frost says Hawaiian officials are afraid of damage to power plants, and that local stores are bringing out their supplies of propane tanks to provide power should electricity be lost.

Hawaiian television stations are reporting that there are already gas and supply shortages on the various islands, but the populace remains mostly calm. Joy says that lines at some stores are 400-500 people long.

Evacuation zones have been established around the islands and residents are being moved to higher ground. Tsunami waves wrap around islands, so it doesn't matter which direction shorelines are facing.

Joy says the water is very calm right now. The Bates winter in Hawaii, while Frost says he will be vacationing on the islands for another week.

Communications are spotty, with Verizon Wireless reporting poor service in some areas.

The big concern right now is preventing water and wastewater treatment plants from being damaged and making sure citizens have fresh drinking water, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle told media this morning.

The tsunami is expected to hit the Hawaiian islands at about 11 a.m. local time, or 1 p.m. B.C. time. The tsunami has already gone past Tahiti and other pacific islands.

Social media networks are all a-twitter, with people informing each other of the upcoming water damage, already nicknamed the "Aquapalypse".

Watch Castanet.net for updates