Tokyo ? Thousands of people in residents along Japan’s eastern coast fled to higher ground after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake triggered tsunami warnings Saturday in parts of the Pacific region, including Hawaii and Alaska.

The warnings, which were lifted nine hours after the quake, rattled coastal residents more than two years after giant waves spawned by an Indian Ocean earthquake killed at least 230,000.

But the largest wave reported by late Saturday was a 16-inch tidal surge along the shores of Chichi-jima, a Pacific island 620 miles south of Tokyo, more than three hours after the quake.

Earlier, a tidal swell of about 4 inches was recorded in Japan’s northeastern coastal town of Nemuro, and a higher tide also was observed in other coastal towns, including Kushiro, Abashiri and Otaru, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said.