KAUAI, Hawaii — Tsunami waves arrived in Hawaii on Saturday afternoon, as predicted, causing erratic surges in the sea, but the impact was not nearly as great as had been feared. The rising water did not appear to cause significant property damage, officials said, and a tsunami warning was canceled.

“It is a reason just to be relieved,” said Gov. Linda Lingle.

The tsunami warnings were set off by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile. Hawaii had waited anxiously most of the morning for the arrival of the tsunami, with officials clearing the beaches of sunbathers and swimmers, rousing tourists from beachfront hotels or confining them to the upper floors and advising everyone else to head to higher ground.

Evacuation alarms first sounded in Hawaii’s vulnerable coastal areas at 6 a.m. Saturday, as the region prepared for what federal officials said could be a dangerous — but most likely not catastrophic — tsunami. Officials warned that waves could reach as high as 6 to 10 feet in the hardest hit areas, with the tsunami first hitting Hilo Bay on Hawaii Island at 11:05 a.m., Honolulu at 11:37, and Kauai at 11:42 as it moved up the island chain.

Image With a tsunami warning in effect, Jason Heun and Jake Fender found higher ground Saturday on top of their van in Honolulu. Credit... Austin Larson/European Pressphoto Agency

Shortly before noon, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, announced that the first tsunami wave had indeed reached Hawaii, but live televised views of the surf at Hilo Bay — a spot traditionally hard hit in tsunamis — showed only the tide moving in and out in erratic pulses.