Rough seas and a rise in sea level is expected to hit the coasts of Malaysia's state of Sabah and its federal territory of Labuan in the East Peninsular Friday night between 06:00 p.m. to midnight local time.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department issued a statement on Friday, warning people to stay away from the affected beaches.

It said the weather condition was brought about by the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that rocked Japan's northeastern Honshu island, leaving at least 16 people dead and many others injured. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, China's Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Hawaii state of the United States.