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SYDNEY - A tsunami raced across the vast Pacific Ocean after a massive killer quake in Chile, with dozens of nations on alert for destructive waves and thousands of people fleeing their homes.

Waves hit Chile, Hawaii, French Polynesia and the South Pacific as the tsunami moved at jetspeed around the "Ring of Fire" after the 8.8-magnitude quake on Saturday which left at least 214 people dead.

Five people were killed and 11 missing on the remote Robinson Crusoe archipelego far off the coast of Chile, the first reported casualties from the tsunami as it powered west across the Pacific.

Warning sirens wailed as about 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Japan were put on alert, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that killed more than 220,000 people.

Despite initial fears, no major damage has been reported and an alert was cancelled in the US state of Hawaii.

But elsewhere in the Pacific experts warned bigger waves could follow the initial surge of water and people in vulnerable coastal communities were still being evacuated.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, set up by Pacific governments after a tsunami unleashed by a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in Chile in 1960, had warned of possible "widespread damage" from waves as high as three metres (10 feet).

"We could be looking at an all-day event," US National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Lau told AFP, as officials warned that the US and Canadian west coasts could also be hit.

"It will stop once it hits the land masses on the other side of the Pacific, in Asia. The wave is spread out across the entire body of water in the Pacific."

In Hawaii, thousands of people had moved to higher ground, rushing to grocery stores to stock up on food and water and queuing at petrol stations. But the authorities later lifted a tsunami warning after waves of about one metre hit.

US President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, had warned that the US western seaboard may see dangerous waves and currents throughout the day.

"In the hours ahead, we'll continue to take every step possible to prepare our shores and protect our citizens," he said.

One tsunami measuring nearly 2.5 metres slammed into Talcahuano, one of about 11 coastal towns in Chile hit by the wave, according to the Pacific centre.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced a partial evacuation of Easter Island, but the island of about 4,000 people, known for its hundreds of monolithic stone statues, received a relatively small onrush of water.

The pan-Pacific tsunami warning applied also to Central America, and authorities as far afield as Russia's Sakhalin island were monitoring the potential for tidal trouble.

Japan said it was bracing for waves of up to three metres expected to hit early afternoon Sunday.

One expert said the mass of water would be hurtling across the ocean at 200 metres a second or 720 kilometres an hour.

"Mid-ocean, the wave is travelling at around the speed of a jet plane," Roger Bilham, a professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado, told AFP.

"The amplitude of the wave is small when it's mid-ocean, but it may rise to five to 10 metres when it reaches Japan or the Philippines."

The Pacific Warning Center, which manages a network of early-warning electronic buoys strung across the Pacific Ocean, said local authorities can assume the threat has passed when no major waves have been seen for two hours.

The region is in the middle of the "Ring of Fire", a belt of seismic fury responsible for most of the world's tremors and volcanoes.

In the island paradise of French Polynesia, waves hit the Marquesas Islands and the Gambier archipelago, but no casualties or major damage were reported.

Schools across the region were closed, the port in Papeete was evacuated and thousands in Tahiti's hillside areas were taken to safer areas. However many residents along the coast refused to leave for fear of looting.

Waves up to 1.5 metres rammed New Zealand's eastern Chatham Islands, with officials warning that the country's entire east coast was at risk from impending waves of up to three metres.

"It is expected that the greatest wave heights will occur between six and 12 hours after the initial arrivals," the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management said.

However, fisherman were still heading out to sea and in one coastal town unperturbed stallholders went ahead with their Sunday market.

In Australia, water levels surged by a few centimetres off Tasmania, officials said, warning of rises of up to 40 centimetres and strong currents for several hours rolling up Australia's east coast.

Despite warnings to stay away, hundreds of people headed down to Sydney's beaches including the world-famous Bondi and scores ventured into the water.

In the South Pacific island nations of Tonga and the Cook Islands, residents were making their way to higher points inland.

Many islanders are still living in makeshift shelters following a terrifying tsunami in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga that trashed entire villages in September, leaving more than 180 people dead.

Despite the early warning system, the September waves came so suddenly that there was little time to flee to higher ground.

A TV grab from Telesur shows an image of a burning building in Concepcion, Chile, after a huge 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the South American country early killing at least 78 people on Feb. 27, 2010. The massive quake plunged much of the Chilean capital, Santiago, into darkness as it snapped power lines and severed communications.