VANCOUVER - A deadly earthquake that rocked Chile early Saturday morning, triggering a Tsunami for parts of the Pacific coast, was expected to have minimal impact on British Columbia, experts said.

"The main energy is not directed at Canada it's directed well to the South," said Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which is based in Hawaii.

"The Hawaiian Islands are in full evacuation. We are expecting the first wave," said Fryer.

The Chilean government declared a state of catastrophe following the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake.

The West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning centre issued an advisory for coastal British Columbia earlier in the day, warning people of strong currents.

In Tofino, B.C., a popular surfing village off the west coast of Vancouver Island, officials posted advisories around town to get the message out to residents to stay clear of the beach.

Jilane Kariatsumari, an employee of Live to Surf said the shop has stopped renting equipment.

"It's a pretty big deal I guess. No one really knows what's going to really happen," said Kariatsumari.

But Fryer said he didn't expect any serious damage to the Canadian coastline.

"I suspect maximum run up in Canada almost certainly is going to be less than a metre and that's kind of a threshold for damage," said Fryer, adding that even a half a metre could sweep a person off their feet, causing them to drown.

Meanwhile, Chilean-Canadians frantically tried to contact friends and family in the country on Saturday.

"It's a lot of collapsed buildings, lot of bridges, most of them fairly new and they all just came down like paper," said Jose Astorga, president of the Winnipeg Chilean Association, whose members have been able to contact some family in Chile, but have not been able to account for all their relatives.

Canadian officials tried to establish communications with Canadians who may be in the affected zone.

"Canadian officials in Santiago and Ottawa are currently assessing the situation to clarify the extent of the damage as well as to determine the potential impact on Canadians who are currently in Chile," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a written statement.

There are some 1,100 Canadians registered as being in Chile, said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

But the earthquake has devastated phone services in the South American country, he said.

"Communications are extremely sporadic," Cannon said in an impromptu teleconference.

"Cellphones, or for all intents and purposes wireless communications, are very sketchy. The hard communication lines are down as well."

Many people have turned to social networking sites to try to connect with people affected by the massive quake.

"I still don't know about family members, but Facebook is helping me more than the telephone," said Ledda Urbani, vice-president of the Quebec Chilean Association in Montreal.

Nell Halse, a spokeswoman from Cooke Aquaculture -- a New Brunswick company that has operations in southern Chile, said the company has eight people from Canada in the country.

"The news we have is everyone seems to be accounted for," she said, adding Twitter helped make the initial contact.

Even members of the Chilean Olympic team were feeling for their countrymen on Saturday.

The Chef de mission Luis Alberto Santa Cruz said all three members of the team and their families are doing well.

"I heard about this late last night right after the earth quake took place, and I was able to get in contact with them last night. Telephones are not working now, but I've been in contact with mail and messenger and they're all fine," said Cruz.

Cruz said one member was planning on returning home on Saturday.

Cannon said Canada has stockpiles of emergency supplies that it could provide to non-governmental aid organizations in Chile, should the government there issue a request for help.

However, the minister ruled out sending Canada's military disaster assistance response team, commonly referred to as the DART team.

Harper extended sympathies to those affected by the quake.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile as they respond to this emerging natural disaster," he said.

A big concern in the aftermath of the quake was the question of what kind of damage could be caused by tsunamis, which are often created by underground tremors.

"Canadian officials are also closely monitoring the potential implications of the tsunami warning that has been issued across the Pacific Ocean," said Harper.

In a statement, Governor General Michaelle Jean said her heart goes out to Canadians of Chilean descent.

"From one natural disaster to another, here we are put to the test once again. After the terrible earthquake that devastated a number of cities and villages in Haiti just weeks ago, the destruction has made its way to Chile," said Jean.

There are an estimated 40,000 Canadians of Chilean descent living in regions of Canada extending from Quebec to areas throughout the western provinces.