Tsunami waves hit US state of Hawaii after Russian quake
The tsunami raised sea levels by 3ft (0.9 metres) at the Haleiwa gauge, a monitoring station on Hawaii's north shore of Oahu, reported the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center around 8:30pm local time Tuesday July 29 ( 06:30 GMT on Wednesday July 30).
Hawaii's Governor Josh Green said it is too early to tell how big the waves reaching Hawaii will be but warned that even small waves are driven with 'great force'.
While there have been no reports of damage, he said authorities would wait up to four hours before being able to assess that the situation is safe: 'We are not yet in the clear', he said.
The US National Weather Service also warned 'danger may persist for many more hours as wave activity continues'.
'Please do not put yourself in harm's way,' said Green, adding that Black Hawk helicopters and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people.
Earlier, the US Tsunami Warning Centers had warned that waves as high of 1 to 3 metres (3.3-9.8ft) were possible in Hawaii, while the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management residents of some coastal areas to evacuate.
Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency said all commercial harbours have been closed. Flights in and out of Hawaii's second-largest island of Maui were also cancelled Tuesday night, Green said.
The tsunami threat in Hawaii comes as the aftermath of the 8.8 quake in Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka region – one of the largest on record – puts residents on alert in coastal areas of parts of Russia, Latin America and numerous Asian and Pacific island states.
Waves up to 4 metres high (13 feet) have already struck Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka region, causing some buildings to be submerged. Thousands of citizens in impacted islands have been evacuated.
Japan is bracing for damage as well, with evacuation orders issued for people living along coastal areas or rivers.
Tsunami waves have also been detected by coastal gauges along Alaska's East Aleutian Islands and the Pacific side of the Alaska Peninsula, according to the US's National Weather Service (NWS) in Anchorage.
The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska
'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,' said Snider.
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Helen Janiszewski, assistant professor in geophysics and tectonics division at the University of Hawaii, told BBC News that, 'a good rule of thumb for tsunami waves is that they travel at about the speed of a jet plane'. She said that the time it takes to travel by plane from one place to another is roughly how long it takes for waves to travel from the quake epicentre to hit elsewhere. Different areas under tsunami warnings and advisories will be taking these time frames into account. Which countries in the region are not affected? New Zealand's disaster management agency warned that the country's coastal areas could expect 'strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore'. In a national advisory alert, Civil Defence New Zealand said there was no immediate need to evacuate but said citizens should stay away from beaches and shore areas. 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If possible, it's important to help others, especially the elderly, children and people with disabilities. Guidance states to stay away from rivers and estuaries, as tsunamis can travel upstream. Finally, it's good to remain calm and to prioritise safety over material possessions. When and where did the quake strike? The earthquake, which struck at 8:25am Japan time (11:25 GMT), was the strongest in the Russian region since 1952, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, and struck at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles). The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region. At a magnitude of 8.8, it is believed to be the sixth strongest earthquake in history. A 2010 earthquake in Chile, the last quake recorded at 8.8, killed 523 people and destroyed more than 370,000 homes. The quake was centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. A resident in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky told Reuters news agency that the earthquake rumbled for several minutes. 'I decided to leave the building,' said Yaroslav, 25. 'It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes,' he was quoted as saying.
