Hawaiçi County Civil Defense said police are closing off all coastal areas as of 9 a.m. and is now prohibiting entry into them until the tsunami danger has passed.
“They’re turning people away and moving people out,” said Hunter Bishop, a Hawaiçi County spokesman.
The Civil Defense agency issued a statement asking people to heed the warnings and said that all evacuations must be completed at this time.
“We ask that you continue to comply with instructuions from local authorities not to endanger lives by causing additional traffic problems, attempting to sightsee or by tying up telephone lines,” it said.

Bishop said water service in inundation areas has been turned off and that the county is asking people to conserve water.
He said water service officials took the precautionary step of turning off the water in inundation areas because of fears the tsunami could knock over a hydrant, resulting in tremendous water loss.
The tsunami is expected to strike the Big Island at 11:04 a.m., with an approximately six-foot high wall of water coming in.