The National Weather Service issued the advisory after an earthquake hit near Samoa earlier Tuesday.

Though forecasters expected the highest surges to hit the region around 9:30 p.m., a harbor patrol official in San Mateo County's Pillar Point Harbor reported no noticeable rise in the water.

In nearby Pacifica, police closed Pacific Pier earlier than usual, though the waves late Tuesday were reported to be no biggerthan those generated during a winter storm.

The National Weather Service in Seattle emphasized that there is no tsunami advisory in effect for Washington waters.

An advisory means that stronger than usual currents and waves can be experienced in coastal aerials with dangers to swimmers and small boats. There is no threat of inundation connected with an advisory.

The initial wave arrivals will begin about 9 p.m. Tuesday and build toward the most hazardous period early Wednesday morning.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said "very weak" tsunami waves were registered off the island of Hachijojima about 10 hours after the quake.

There were no reports of injuries or damage in Japan, which is about 4,700 miles (7,600 kilometers) northwest of Samoa.

In Samoa and American Samoa, at least 82 people were killed when a tsunami swept ashore after the powerful earthquake hit nearby, officials said.

The massive waves flattened villages and swept cars and people out to sea.

The quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Samoa, an island nation of 180,000 people located about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii.

It struck about 120 miles (190 kilometers) from neighboring American Samoa, a U.S. territory that is home to 65,000 people.