First tsunami wave hits Hawaii after powerful 8.8 earthquake in Russia but it's relatively small

CBS News

7 days ago

Hawaii is under a tsunami warning after one of the world's strongest earthquakes struck Russia's Far East early Wednesday, an 8.8-magnitude temblor that caused tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska and also prompted warnings for North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTSC) said the estimated arrival time of the first tsunami wave in Hawaii was 7:17 p.m. Tuesday local time (1:17 a.m. Wednesday EDT). CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB-TV reported that the first of what could be several tsunami waves was coming ashore in some places and was relatively small, though it was coming at a time of high tide.
The PTSC said the Kahului Maui gauge in Hawaii recorded a tsunami height of four feet relative to normal sea levels.
People were urged to move inland and shelters were opened in many parts of Hawaii.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, between Japan and Hawaii, measured tsunami waves from peak to trough of 6 feet. He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller and it was too early to tell how large they would be. A tsunami of that size would be akin to a three foot wave riding on top of surf, he said.
He told a new conference that a wave that size could move cars and throw fences around. "It can dislodge trees, that's why you can't just be out there. The impact is at great speed," Green said. "Any any structure that gets loose and strikes the individual could take them out. And people can drown quite easily with the force of that kind of wave."
Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the quake's epicenter flooded as residents fled inland. Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu hours before tsunami waves were expected, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline.
People were advised to move to higher ground around much of the Pacific Coast and warned that the potential tsunami danger may last for more than a day.
Most places where tsunami waves have already washed ashore have reported no significant damage so far.
Waves less than a foot (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in the Alaskan communities of Amchitka and Adak, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska.
White waves washed up to the shoreline on Japan's Hokkaido in the north and Ibaraki and Chiba, just northeast of Tokyo, in footage aired on Japan's NHK public television.
A tsunami of 60 centimeters (2 feet) was recorded at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves including 20 centimeters (8 inches) in Tokyo Bay five hours after the quake.
The impact of the tsunami could last for hours - such as in Adak, a community of about 70 people in Alaska's Aleutian Islands -- or perhaps more than a day, Snider said.
"A tsunami is not just one wave," he said. "It's a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour -- as fast as a jet airplane -- in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that's where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there."
"In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they're going to be moving back and forth for quite a while," which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, which is between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet (1.8 meters). He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller and it was too early to tell how large they would be. A tsunami of that size would be akin to a 3 foot (90 centimeter) wave riding on top of surf, he said.
"This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land," he said at a news conference.
Green said Black Hawk helicopters have been activated and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people. "But please do not put yourself in harm's way," he said.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast starting around 11:40 p.m. local time, with wave heights between 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters). It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.
"This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water," the department said.
Much of the West Coast spanning Canada's British Columbia province, Washington state and California were also under a tsunami advisory.
A tsunami of less than 30 centimeters (under 1 foot) was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The province's emergency preparedness agency said waves were expected to reach remote Langara Island around 10:05 p.m. Tuesday and Tofino around 11:30 p.m. The agency said "multiple waves over time" were expected.
The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its measurement to 8.8 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 20.7 kilometers (13 miles).
The quake was centered about 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.
The first tsunami wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia's Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko. He said residents were safe and staying on high ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.
The quake caused damage to buildings and cars swayed in the streets in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which also had power outages and mobile phone service failures. Russian news agencies quoting the regional Health Ministry saying several people sought medical help in Kamchatka after the earthquake, but no serious injuries were reported.
The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.
The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan. Ferries connecting Hokkaido and Aomori on the northern tip of Japan's Honshu island were suspended, as well as those connecting Tokyo and nearby islands, and some local train operations were suspended or delayed, according to operators. Sendai airport temporarily closed its runway.
In Japan's northern coastal town of Matsushima, dozens of residents took refuge at an evacuation center, where water bottles were distributed and an air conditioner was running. One person told NHK she came to the facility without hesitation based on the lesson from the 2011 tsunami.
Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure plant safety.
Philippine authorities warned provinces and towns along the eastern coast facing the Pacific of possible tsunami waves of less than 1 meter (3 feet) and advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal areas. "It may not be the largest of waves, but these can continue for hours and expose people swimming in the waters to danger," Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.
Mexico's navy warned that tsunami waves will start reaching the northern coast in Ensenada, near California, at around 02:22 a.m. Wednesday local time, and waves could progress along the Pacific coast to Chiapas state, around 07:15 a.m. local time. The navy recommended people stay away from beaches until it suspended the alert.
New Zealand authorities warned of "strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges" along all coastlines of the South Pacific island nation. The emergency management agency said people should move out of the water, off beaches and away from harbors, marinas, rivers and estuaries. The waves would start arriving late Wednesday local time.
The quake was the strongest to hit this area on the Kamchatka Peninsula since 1952, according to the local branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The 9.0 quake on Nov. 4, 1952, in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.
They said that while the situation "was under control" there was a risk of aftershocks, which could last for up to a month and warned against visiting certain coastal areas.
Earlier in July, five powerful quakes - the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 - struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
There are four levels of tsunami alerts: warning, advisory, watch and information statement, according to the National Weather Service. A tsunami warning is the most severe alert, meaning residents should take action due to a tsunami that may cause widespread flooding.