On Dec. 21, 1812, a wave arrived at Ho’okena on the west coast of the Big Island and became the first recorded tsunami event, NOAA said. Since then, more than 160 tsunamis have been confirmed in the Hawaiian Islands, according to NOAA and other scientific papers. Nine of those tsunamis have caused 294 deaths and more than $625 million in damages.

The worst predictions did not come to pass after a major earthquake off the coast of Russia sent a surge of water across the Pacific.

It had been more than 12 years since a tsunami warning and statewide coastal evacuation has been issued in Hawaii.