Latest news with #Pacific-wide
India Today
2 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
30th July: Earthquake Triggers Tsunami, Indian Consulate Issues Advisory and UK Warns Israel
India Today Podcasts Desk UPDATED: Jul 30, 2025 19:41 IST On News At Seven this 30th of July, Jamshed Qamar Siddiqui brings to you the day's most crucial headlines. A massive 8.8-magnitude quake near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula triggered 4-metre tsunami waves, damaging buildings and prompting Pacific-wide alerts. Waves later hit Alaska, Hawaii, and California. The Indian Consulate in San Francisco issued a tsunami advisory for Indian nationals in U.S. coastal states and Hawaii. Meanwhile, UK PM Keir Starmer warned that Britain may recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September if Israel doesn't agree to an immediate Gaza ceasefire and take steps toward peace and aid access. Produced By Garvit Srivastava Sound Mix By Rohan Bharti
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- Science
- NZ Herald
Scientists say these waves were tame by comparison to tsunamis of the past
'It definitely created a Pacific-wide tsunami, which in the context of tsunamis is quite large,' said Tina Dura, a tsunami researcher at Virginia Tech in the US. 'But it's a little bit smaller than could be possible in that magnitude of earthquake.' The quake occurred near the Kamchatka Peninsula, where the Pacific tectonic plate is sliding underneath the North American plate. This seismically active 'subduction' zone has produced two of the world's top 10 earthquakes. In 1952, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit less than 32km away from the epicentre of yesterday's quake; that temblor also triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami. The two plates slipped past one another at the relatively shallow depth of 20km under the ocean, which caused part of the seafloor to thrust upward and displace the water - creating a tsunami. Wave heights reached much higher than normal near the Kamchatka Peninsula - more than 4.5m, said Alexander Rabinovich, a physical oceanographer and part of the IUGG International Tsunami Commission. He said local teams will be surveying damage to the low-population area along the southern coast of Kamchatka, where he said wave heights could have reached 15m. Around Hawaii, wave heights hit 1.5 to 1.8m. Most places around California saw just a foot (30cm) or so in increased wave height - though Crescent City, where tsunamis often get amplified because of the shape its shelf, saw wave heights of almost 1.2m. Why wave heights were relatively low farther away from the quake 'is the biggest question at the moment', said Viacheslav Gusiakov, a tsunami expert in the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As the wave spreads out, it weakens. But the similarly powerful 1952 earthquake in the same region caused bigger waves and more damage in Hawaii than yesterday's quake so far. One possible explanation, Gusiakov said, is a potential absence of a large landslide in the ocean that could have exacerbated the tsunami. Underwater movements of sediments or rocks can add to the energy of a tsunami by up to 90%, although this specific case will need to be studied more. It's also possible that the earthquake itself, although powerful, may have contributed to a milder tsunami. US Geological Survey modelling suggests the land shifted by 6-9m along a roughly 480km stretch of fault, said Diego Melgar, director of the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Centre at the University of Oregon. These sorts of variations in fault movement can be the difference between relatively small tsunamis and disastrous ones, he said. For instance, the 2011 earthquake that triggered a nuclear crisis in Japan shifted the land by as much as 45m across a similarly long stretch of fault line, creating tsunami waves that were as high as 30m locally. It also caused millions of dollars in damage in Crescent City and swept one person away. 'Earthquakes have a personality,' Melgar said. 'Those kinds of details really affect the tsunami.' Part of the answer is also better warnings, experts said. Tsunami warnings were issued in a timely manner by the Kamchatka and Sakhalin tsunami warning centres, Gusiakov said. So far, no tsunami fatalities have been reported. The surge of water did cause a deck to break off in Crescent City, but no injuries have been reported so far. Rabinovich said the tsunami warnings were quite effective this time around, allowing people time to evacuate from coastal areas, take boats out of harbours and prepare. 'When you're all the way across the Pacific Ocean, you do have a little bit more time to get everyone aware and prepared,' Dura said. That's not always the case. For example, she said an event could unfold in minutes to hours in the western United States from a rupture in the Cascadia subduction zone. It's too early to say that the earthquake did not cause any disastrous tsunami damage, Melgar said. People have become used to seeing disaster impacts broadcast live on social media, but it will take careful analysis of satellite data as well as boots-on-the-ground surveys to know the height of waves that hit the Russian coast, particularly in the sparsely populated Kamchatka Peninsula. Even though any tsunami impacts were minimal in Hawaii and on the US West Coast, Melgar called it 'a story of triumph' that those areas received warnings and acted quickly. Some warning systems have been implemented in response to deadlier and more damaging earthquakes. The 1952 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula caused significant damage in Hawaii. In 1946, a 8.6-magnitude quake in Alaska's Aleutian Islands triggered a tsunami that killed 159 people in Hawaii. Those disasters were the driving force behind the creation of the US Tsunami Warning Centres, which are part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 'Any warning at all is a huge success,' Melgar said.
Mint
9 hours ago
- Climate
- Mint
United States' worst tsunami fears pass, evacuations underway in South America
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake, tied as the sixth-strongest ever recorded, struck near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, triggering Pacific-wide tsunami alerts. The quake's epicenter was just 78 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where residents felt violent shaking that Governor Vladimir Solodov called the 'strongest in decades'. Within minutes, tsunami waves flooded Severo-Kurilsk port with 19-foot surges, sweeping away storage containers and boats. Dramatically, surgeons in a Kamchatka cancer center continued operating as ceilings shook, later earning state award nominations . The tremor also triggered eruptions at Klyuchevskoy volcano, sending lava down its slopes. While the U.S., Japan and Russia lifted most warnings by Wednesday evening, Chile upgraded to maximum red alert along its 2,600-mile coastline. President Gabriel Boric cautioned: 'Remember the first wave is usually not the strongest' as preventative evacuations expanded. In Ecuador, 1.3-meter waves hit the Galapagos Islands' Baltra coast, keeping emergency protocols active . Peru closed 65 ports and restricted fishing after predicting 7.5-foot waves . Meanwhile, French Polynesia braced for 4-meter surges in the Marquesas Islands, though observed heights stayed near 1.5 meters . Though catastrophic damage was avoided, 125+ aftershocks (including three above magnitude 6.0) continued rattling the Pacific. The U.S. National Weather Service warned of 'stubbornly persistent' currents and fluctuating ocean levels for 24+ hours. Scientists noted the quake occurred on a 'megathrust fault' like Japan's 2011 disaster, with Caroline Orchiston of New Zealand's University of Otago warning: 'Large aftershocks can be damaging for months'. For now, communities from Alaska to Australia remain cautious, proof that when the earth shakes in Kamchatka, the world holds its breath.
Bangkok Post
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Bangkok Post
Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunami warnings
TOKYO - Tsunamis hit parts of Russia's Far East and Japan on Wednesday after a huge magnitude 8.8 earthquake, with warnings in place around the Pacific of waves of over three metres (10 feet) in places. Russia's emergencies ministry said a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, where the population of around 2,000 people was evacuated. A video posted on Russian social media appeared to show buildings in the town submerged in seawater. Several people were injured in Russia by the quake, state media reported, but none of them seriously. Live footage on Japanese television showed people evacuating by car or on foot to higher ground, including the northern island of Hokkaido, where the first wave, measuring 30 centimetres (one foot) was observed. Wednesday's quake was the strongest since 1952 in Russia's Kamchatka region, the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported. The epicenter of the earthquake is roughly the same as the massive 9.0 temblor that year which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami, according to the USGS. At least six aftershocks have further rattled the region, including one of 6.9 magnitude and another listed at 6.3. Japanese broadcaster NHK switched to special coverage, with presenters telling people on the coast to "please evacuate immediately". Its screen showed the messages "Tsunami! Evacuate!" - Upgraded alert - Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan -- destroyed by a huge quake and tsunami in 2011 -- were evacuated, its operator said. Japan's weather agency initially warned that the waves would be up to one metre high, but this was later upgraded to a much more potentially dangerous three metres. This covered all the way down the northern and eastern coasts of Japan as far as Wakayama, south of Osaka, as well as outlying smaller islands. Beyond that, as well as in the Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay, the waves were forecast to be one metre high and to hit between 10:00 am and 11:30 am (0100-0230 GMT). The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially said the tremor measured 8.0 but then upgraded the reading to 8.8. The US Tsunami Warning Centers said the waves exceeding three metres above the tide level were possible along some coasts of Ecuador, northwestern Hawaiian islands and Russia. Between one- and three-metre waves were possible along some coasts of Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Japan and other islands and island groups in the Pacific, it said. Waves of up to one metre were possible elsewhere, including Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Tonga and Taiwan. It described the potential conditions as "hazardous." The United States further sounded the alarm with a series of alerts of varying levels along North America's West Coast, from Alaska down to the entire coast of California. Tsunami alerts were pushed to mobile phones in California, according to local AFP reporters. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned on X that "tsunamis will strike repeatedly. Do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted." "Residents in regions where warnings have been issued should immediately evacuate to safe locations such as elevated areas or evacuation buildings," top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said in a short-notice brief news conference. Some train lines in Japan were suspended due to the alert, including lines serving the coast around Chiba, Yokohama, Fujisawa and down the Izu coast. The Philippines urged residents living along the eastern seaboard to move further inland, predicting tsunami waves of as high as one metre to arrive between 1:20 pm and 2:40 pm (0520-0640 GMT). "People are also advised to stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast … until the cancellation of the advisory," the seismology centre said in a warning. The warning also advised fishermen already out to sea to stay offshore in deep waters until the threat passed.
Nahar Net
14 hours ago
- Climate
- Nahar Net
Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunamis
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 July 2025, 12:56 One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four meters (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan. The magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Petropavlovsk on Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula, and was the largest since 2011 when one of magnitude 9.1 off Japan and a subsequent tsunami killed more than 15,000 people. Russian authorities said a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, crashing through the port area and submerging the local fishing plant. Authorities said the population of around 2,000 people was evacuated. The waves -- which were up to four meters high in some areas -- reached as far as the town's World War II monument about 400 meters from the shore line, according to Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov. Several people were injured in Russia by the quake, state media reported, but none seriously. "The walls were shaking," a Kamchatka resident told state media Zvezda. "It's good that we packed a suitcase, there was one with water and clothes near the door. We quickly grabbed it and ran out... It was very scary," she said. - Millions advised to evacuate - Officials from countries with a Pacific coastline in North and South America -- including the United States, Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia -- issued warnings to avoid threatened beaches and low-lying areas. In Japan, nearly two million people were advised to evacuate, and many left by car or on foot to higher ground. One woman was killed as she drove her car off a cliff as she tried to evacuate, local media reported. A 1.3-metre high tsunami reached a port in the northern prefecture of Iwate, Japan's weather agency said. In Hawaii, governor Josh Green said flights in and out of the island of Maui had been cancelled as a precaution. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later downgraded the alert for Hawaii to an advisory. Earlier, tsunami sirens blared near Hawaii's popular Waikiki surf beach where an AFP photographer saw gridlocked traffic as Hawaiians escaped to higher ground. "STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!" US President Donald Trump said on social media. - Pacific alerts - Wednesday's quake was the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952, the regional seismic monitoring service said, warning of aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude. The epicenter is roughly the same as the massive 9.0 quake that year which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami, according to the USGS. The organization said it was one of the 10 strongest earthquakes ever recorded. On Wednesday at least six aftershocks further rattled the Russian Far East, including one of 6.9 magnitude and another listed at 6.3. The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves exceeding three meters above the tide level were possible along some coasts of Ecuador, northwestern Hawaiian islands and Russia. Between one- and three-meter waves were possible along some coasts of Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Japan and other islands in the Pacific, it said. Waves of up to one meter were possible elsewhere, including Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Tonga and Taiwan. - Fukushima evacuated - At Inage Beach in Chiba prefecture in Japan, a security perimeter was set up, and a rescue worker told AFP that the seaside area was off limits until further notice. "I didn't expect there to be a tsunami; I actually made a joke about it when we heard (the alert)," Canadian tourist Leana Lussier, 17, told AFP. Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan -- destroyed by a huge quake and tsunami in 2011 -- were evacuated, its operator said. In Taitung in Taiwan, hotel resort worker Wilson Wang, 31, told AFP: "We've advised guests to stay safe and not go out, and to avoid going to the coast." Pacific nation Palau, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the Philippines, ordered the evacuation of "all areas along the coastline."
