Tsunami warnings scaled back after waves crash into Japan, Hawaii and US coast
Several people were injured, but none seriously, and no major damage has been reported so far.
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Authorities warned that the risk from the 8.8 magnitude quake could last for hours, and millions of people potentially in the path of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or seek high ground.
But the danger already appeared to be lessening in some places, with Hawaii and parts of Japan downgrading their warnings. Authorities on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula, near the quake's epicentre, cancelled their tsunami warning.
Residents fled inland as ports flooded on Kamchatka, while frothy, white waves washed up on the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and motorways in Honolulu, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the sea.
People flocked to evacuation centres in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan's nuclear plants were reported on Wednesday.
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Russian authorities said several people were injured, but all were in stable condition, though they gave few details. In Japan, at least one person was injured.
A tsunami height of 10 to 13ft was recorded in Kamchatka, 2ft on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, and 2 to 5ft in San Francisco, officials said.
Much of the US west coast, spanning California, Oregon, Washington state, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, were under a tsunami advisory.
The aftermath of a tsunami hitting the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk in the Kuril Islands (Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences/AP)
Hawaii was still under a tsunami advisory as Wednesday began, but evacuation orders on the Big Island and Oahu, the most populated island, had been lifted.
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An advisory means there is the potential for strong currents and dangerous waves, as well as flooding on beaches or in harbours.
The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning co-ordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Centre in Alaska.
'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.'
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Hawaii governor Josh Green earlier said helicopters and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities needed to rescue people.
Oahu residents evacuate Ewa Beach (Michelle Bir/AP)
Oregon Department of Emergency Management said small tsunami waves were expected along the coast. It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbours 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.
A tsunami of less than a foot was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and waves of up to 1.4ft above tide levels were observed in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
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Russia's Oceanology Institute said tsunami waves might have been as high as 30 to 50ft in some sections of the Kamchatka coast.
Later, authorities on the peninsula and the Kuril islands cancelled tsunami warnings, though they said some risk remained.
The regional branch of Russia's Emergency Ministry on Kamchatka warned that scientists expect aftershocks at magnitudes of up to 7.5. It said more tsunamis are possible in Avacha Bay, where the regional capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located.
People take shelter at a temporary evacuation site in Kushiro, Hokkaido, northern Japan (Kyodo News/AP)
Oleg Melnikov, head of the regional health department, said a few people hurt themselves while rushing to leave buildings and a hospital patient was injured while jumping out of a window. He said all injured people were stable.
A video released by Russian media outlet showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room, before continuing with surgery after the shaking stopped.
Authorities introduced a state of emergency on the sparsely populated Kurils — which are between Kamchatka and Japan — after the tsunami. They earlier reported that several waves flooded the fishing port of Severo-Kurilsk, the main city on the islands, and cut power supplies to the area. The port's mayor said no major damage was recorded.
The quake struck at 8.25am Japan time with a magnitude of 8.8 magnitude and a depth of about 13 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.
It was centred about 75 miles from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.
Rescuers inspect a nursery school damaged by the earthquake in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service/AP)
The earthquake appeared to be the strongest recorded since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off north-eastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.
The tsunami alert disrupted transport in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected area suspending or delaying some operations.
A tsunami of 2ft was recorded at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves including 8in in Tokyo Bay five hours after the quake.
Japan's Meteorological Agency partially downgraded its tsunami alert to an advisory in the Pacific coast south of Fukushima, with the alert still in place farther north.
Authorities in the Philippines, Mexico and New Zealand also warned residents to watch for waves and strong currents. People were also urged to stay away from coastlines until any wave surges passed in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands.
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