Tsunami waves hit Kamchatka and Japan after massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia

Yahoo

4 days ago

A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia's eastern coast on Wednesday triggered tsunami warnings and advisories across the Pacific, affecting regions from Hawaii and California to Japan and Russia.
Tsunami waves struck parts of Japan's Hokkaido and Russia's Kuril Islands and a tidal surge of 1ft was recorded near Alaska's volcanic island of Amchitka at about 5.14pm Pacific Time, the highest water level above the normal tide reported so far from the tsunami, meteorologists said.
Follow our live coverage of the aftermath of the earthquake here.
The entire west coast of the US as well as Guam, the Philippines and the Northern Mariana Islands were alerted to watch for signs of dangerous waves, and parts of Canada, Russia, Indonesia, and Japan were also under tsunami alerts.
The National Tsunami Warning Center upgraded the tsunami advisory to a tsunami warning for Northern California's coast from Cape Mendocino to the Oregon border, including Crescent City, where waves of 2 to 5ft could arrive around 11.50 pm PT on Tuesday.
The rest of the California coast remained under a lower-level advisory, with smaller waves expected but still dangerous conditions. Crescent City was especially at risk, having suffered deadly tsunami damage in 1964.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the earthquake hit just before 1.30 pm Hawaii Standard Time around 78 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia.
Tsunami warning sirens sounded in Honolulu after Hawaii was upgraded from a tsunami watch to a tsunami warning, the Associated Press reported. Governor Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation, activating response centres across California and urging residents to take the situation seriously.
Commercial flights at the Hilo international airport were suspended to aid emergency evacuations in nearby areas like Keaukaha as Hawaii prepared for a potential tsunami, the Hawaii Department of Transportation said.
According to emergency officials, the first wave was expected at 7.17pm local time. On Kauai, authorities were urging residents to stay out of Hanalei to keep evacuation routes clear.
President Donald Trump acknowledged the tsunami alerts in a post on Truth Social.
'Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii. A Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States,' he said. 'Japan is also in the way. Please visit tsunami.gov for the latest information. STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!'
The earthquake was initially reported as a magnitude 8 but the US Geological Survey upgraded it to an 8.7 and later 8.8.
A tsunami watch is issued when there's a potential for a tsunami to develop. That alert can be upgraded to an advisory if monitors find reason to believe the waves generated by a potential tsunami are likely to be dangerous.
A tsunami warning is issued when widespread water inundation or significant coastal flooding is expected from a confirmed tsunami.
The National Weather Service in the San Francisco Bay Area also published a post telling anyone in the area to keep up with developing news as waves from a potential tsunami could arrive just after midnight local time.
'TSUNAMI WATCH in effect for the California coast. Estimated time of arrival as early as 12:15 AM on July 30. People along the coast: Stand by for further updates,' the post read.
Rising waters and strong currents could affect southern California, although widespread flooding was unlikely, the National Weather Service said.
It warned that tsunamis often came in a series of waves over several hours, with the first not necessarily being the largest.
Canadian officials issued a tsunami watch for parts of coastal British Columbia.
Several people were injured in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula and much of Japan's eastern coastline was placed under evacuation orders.
'Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,' Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said.
Tsunami waves reaching 3-4m were reported in parts of Kamchatka, Sergei Lebedev, the region's emergency minister, said.
Japan issued a tsunami advisory following the earthquake. Japanese meteorologists said a potential tsunami could inundate parts of the coastline up to a yard, according to CBS News.
More than 1.9 million people across 21 prefectures had been asked to evacuate though the waves were currently far smaller than initially feared, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
The largest evacuations were ordered in Hokkaido, Kanagawa, and Wakayama.
Japanese authorities said tsunami waves of only 30-50 cm had been recorded thus far, far below the 3m forecast, but cautioned that larger waves could still arrive.
As a precaution, the airport in the northern Japanese city of Sendai was closed. Its runway, located near the coast, was inundated during the devastating 2011 tsunami.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said parts of three expressways had been shut and train services on 41 lines suspended.
'We ask that everyone in areas where an alert has been issued immediately evacuate to a safe place such as high ground or an evacuation building,' Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a statement.
'Even if a tsunami arrives, there is a chance that second and third waves will arrive, which will be even larger, so I ask that you pay close attention to information regarding tsunamis and do not leave safe locations until the warning is lifted.'
The Philippines and Indonesia also issued tsunami warnings. Tsunami waves under 1m were expected to reach parts of the Philippines and Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The Kamchatka earthquake is the sixth strongest ever recorded. It shares this rank with the deadly 2010 quake in Chile, which left over 500 people dead and caused widespread destruction and the 1906 earthquake off Ecuador and Colombia that triggered a tsunami, killing up to 1,500 people.