An evacuation order for coastal areas of Hawaii was cancelled on Sunday after a tsunami warning was downgraded.
The warning was triggered by a shallow magnitude 7.7 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Canada on Saturday night.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the first tsunami wave was 0.8 metres and less forceful than expected.
At least 100,000 people were ordered to move to higher ground on Saturday night and there was massive traffic congestion as warning sirens sounded across the islands.
After the warning was downgraded, Governor Neil Abercrombie said Hawaii could count its blessings.
The quake occurred 200km south-west of the Canadian town of Prince Rupert at a depth of 18km at 8.04pm on Saturday.
Natural Resources Canada said in a statement that the quake was felt across much of north-central British Columbia.
Numerous aftershocks, some as strong as magnitude 4.6, followed the initial quake.
The first waves hit the Hawaiian archipelago from around 10.30pm Hawaii Standard Time.
"The tsunami arrived about when we expected it should," said senior geophysicist Gerard Fryer. "I was expecting it to be a little bigger."
The warning was downgraded shortly after 1am on Sunday. But beaches and harbours remained closed and residents were urged to stay away from the water.
The alert also extended along coasts of Washington State, Oregon and northern California.
The last time Oahu had a tsunami warning was after the Japanese earthquake in March 2011.
