Evacuation orders after 8.8 quake

Otago Daily Times

4 days ago

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula has triggered 4-metre-high tsunami waves, sparking evacuation orders across the Pacific. Surge warning for entire NZ coast
The shallow quake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region on Wednesday, while much of Japan's eastern seaboard - devastated by a 9.0 magnitude tremor and tsunami in 2011 - was ordered to evacuate.
In Hawaii, coastal residents were told to get to high ground or the fourth floor or above of buildings, and the United States Coast Guard ordered ships out of harbours as the tsunami approached.
"Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected," the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.
Tsunami waves reaching 3 to 4 metres struck parts of Kamchatka, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia's emergency ministry said.
"Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors," Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia's Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that a kindergarten was damaged but most buildings withstood the quake. No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was shallow at a depth of 19.3km and centred 119km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 people.
It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier, and reported a series of strong aftershocks up to a magnitude of 6.9.
There have been about 30 additional tremors following the main quake, a regional branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said, with a magnitude of between 2 and 5 it said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Warnings across the Pacific
Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan's Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people.
Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said.
Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed scores of people in the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering under tents from the beating sun, as fishing boats left harbours to avoid potential damage from the incoming waves.
Automaker Nissan Motor suspended operations at certain domestic factories in Japan to ensure employee safety, Kyodo news agency reported.
Three tsunami waves had been recorded in Japan, the largest of 60 centimetres, officials said. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said there were no injuries or damage reported so far, and no irregularities at any nuclear plants.
Smaller waves were possible along coastlines across much of the Pacific, including the US West Coast.
The Philippines' seismology agency advised people to stay away from beaches in coastal areas facing the Pacific, as these regions were expected to experience tsunami waves of less than 1 metre in height.
Indonesia's geophysics agency said tsunami waves of less than 50cm could hit some parts of Indonesia. The tsunami could reach some coastal cities and towns in the Papua region, North Maluku province and Gorontalo province, the agency said in a statement.
New Zealand's disaster management agency warned coastal areas could expect "strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore". In a national advisory alert, Civil Defence New Zealand said there was no immediate need to evacuate, but citizens should stay away from beaches and shore areas. Russian town evacuated
A resident in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky said the shaking started slowly on Wednesday but built up and rumbled for several minutes.
"Considering its strength and how long it lasted … I decided to leave the building," said Yaroslav, 25.
"The building is very flimsy and light, which might be why it survived. But it felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes.'
Several people sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told Russia's TASS state news agency.
"Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,' Melnikov said.
Russia's Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that the port in the Sakhalin town of Severo-Kurilsk and a fish processing plant there were partially flooded by a tsunami. The population was evacuated.
While a kindergarten was also damaged, most buildings withstood the quake and no serious injuries or fatalities had been reported, the ministry added. 'Ring of fire'
Kamchatka and Russia's Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The Russian Academy of Sciences said it was the strongest quake to hit the region since 1952.
"However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high ... as one might expect from such a magnitude," said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service, on Telegram.
'Aftershocks are currently ongoing ... Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.'