TOKYO ? Japan on Sunday evacuated more than 50,000 people from vulnerable seaside areas as a tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake in Chile approached its Pacific coast, officials said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that waves of up to three meters (10 feet) could hit the northern areas of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi.

"We instructed some 11,300 people living near the coast to evacuate as quickly as possible from the designated danger zone," said Shigeru Suzuki, a local official in Sendai City in Miyagi.

Masanori Kitamura, an official of Hachinohe in Aomori, where 30,000 people were ordered to leave their homes, said: "Now, our firefighters are patrolling out there to check whether any residents remain near the coast."

At least another 15,000 residents in northern Japan were ordered to evacuate, usually to school buildings and other public facilities to shield them from cold rain or snow falling in much if the region, officials said.