HONOLULU -- The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center early on Saturday morning placed Hawaii and most of the Pacific Region under a tsunami warning after a destructive earthquake measuring 8.8 struck the central coast of Chile.

Civil Defense set off the sirens at 6 a.m. for people to evacuate coastal areas.

A flood of cars could be seen heading up the mountain to Makakilo.

Authorities began closing Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki as teams evacuated visitors and workers from the hotel areas.

The quake's epicenter was off shore about 200 miles southwest of Chile's capital of Santiago and 21 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The major quake put surrounding areas under a tsunami warning. Waves up to nearly 8 feet have been reported along the South American coastline.

The quake struck at about 8:30 p.m. Hawaii time.

The tsunami warning covers South America, Antarctica, the islands in the Pacific Ocean through Japan and as far away as Russia.

Scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said if a tsunami were to reach the state it would not be any larger than the waves that already washed onto Chile's coast.

The earliest Hawaii would see changes in the sea level would be 11:19 a.m. Saturday, officials said.

Check to see if you are in a tsunami zone here.

Chile had the world's most powerful earthquake on record. A 9.5 magnitude quake struck southern Chile on May 22, 1960. That earthquake left about 1,655 dead, 3,000 injured and 2 million homeless.

That same quake created a tsunami that struck Hilo causing 61 deaths. The tsunami destroyed a large portion of downtown Hilo, leaving $75 million damage.