Hawaii's Tsunami Warning Canceled After 7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Near Russia Prompted Alert
A large 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, on Sunday, July 20
Hawaii and multiple areas near the Pacific briefly issued tsunami warnings following the earthquake
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled the alert after determining there was no threat at 9:42 p.m Hawaii timeA tsunami watch in Hawaii has been canceled after a huge earthquake near Russia's Kamchatka region.
On Sunday, July 20, multiple earthquakes, including one that was 7.4 magnitude, struck the Russian coast. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center (USNTWC) initially issued a tsunami watch for Hawaii as a result at 9:03 p.m. local time on Saturday.
'Based on all available data, a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter,' the alert warned. 'An investigation is underway to determine if there is a tsunami threat to Hawaii.'
The tsunami was originally estimated to arrive earliest at 2:43 a.m. local time on Sunday.
'Tsunami Watch Issued — Prepare to Act! A Tsunami Watch means a tsunami is possible, but the situation is still being evaluated,' the Oahu Emergency Management team initially wrote on X.
The tsunami watch was later cancelled at 9:42 p.m. due to there being no immediate threat, Hawaii News Now reported.
A tsunami watch is issued when an earthquake has taken place and could potentially cause a tsunami in impacted areas.
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The alert came after a series of smaller earthquakes hit Kamchatka on Sunday, with a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hitting at 6:35 a.m. local time, per USNTWC.
"A tsunami wave with a height of no more than 60 cm is possible to approach the Aleutian Municipal District, no more than 40 cm to the Ust-Kamchatka Municipal District, and no more than 15 cm to the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka District," the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in an initial warning statement, per ABC News.
Tsunami watches were also issued in Canada, Indonesia, and Japan before they were all cancelled.
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Steep-sided, narrow valleys funnel rain into the waterways below, causing them to rapidly swell and overflow. When Hurricane Helene carved its 500-mile path of destruction from Florida to the Southern Appalachians in September 2024, Elkin and its neighboring towns — Wilkesboro, Ronda, Jonesville — were in its way. Elkin was spared the deadly destruction wrought in other parts of the state, but the Yadkin River rose 22 feet, inundating homes and businesses, leaving roads underwater and swamping pickleball courts. It took Jim Neese a week to clean up his campground, Riverwalk RV Park, nestled along the river, after Helene left it swimming in a muddy swirl of floodwater. Floods are a part of life here, he told CNN. 'Anytime you get bad weather, you think about it.' They do tend to be foreseeable, he added: 'You see it coming and you know (the river is) rising… We keep an eye on everything. I watch three or four different apps.' 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'When we see something coming, it is a concern,' said Brent Cornelison, Elkin's town manager. 'And after Helene, it will be a much larger concern.' Freedman reported from Washington, DC. O'Kruk reported from New York. Ory reported from Atlanta. Paddison reported from London. Miller and Weir reported from Helen, Georgia. Angela Fritz contributed reporting from Washington, DC.
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