Tsunami warnings live: Evacuations in US and Japan after 8.8 earthquake hits off Russia
A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggered 4-meter (13-foot) tsunami waves and sparked evacuation orders in Hawaii and across the Pacific on Wednesday.
The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan's eastern seaboard - devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 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 U.S. Coast Guard ordered ships out of harbors as the tsunami approached.
"Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected," the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X. No major waves were seen along the western-most of the major Hawaiian islands just before sunset when the first tsunami was expected to hit, live footage showed.
The Honolulu Department of Emergency Management has issued a warning for residents to 'take action' on X. The department said that tsunami waves 'are currently impacting Hawaii'.
Tsunami warnings are in effect for the following areas:
Hawaii
Northern California (Cape Mendocino to Oregon border)
Alaska's Aleutian Islands
Advisories are also in place for:
US west coast
British Columbia
Japan's Pacific coast
Guam
The Philippines
Parts of South America, including Ecuador and Peru
The height of tsunami waves in the Russian Pacific town of Severo-Kurilsk exceeded three meters, and the most powerful was as big as five meters, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported on Wednesday, citing emergency services.
Coastal residents in the US are evacuating to high ground after a one of the strongest earthquake's in modern history sparked tsunami warnings.The powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggering 13ft tsunami warnings across parts of Russia, Japan and the US.Several people were injured while much of Japan's eastern seaboard were ordered to evacuate.Long traffic jams have been reported in Hawaii, where coastal residents were told to get to high ground or the fourth floor or above of buildings, while the US Coast Guard ordered ships out of harbours as the tsunami approached.
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