First tsunami waves reach Japan after powerful quake described as ‘unique event’ struck off Russia’s far east
A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia has triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific including Alaska, Japan, Hawaii and towards New Zealand.
The US Tsunami Warning System said hazardous waves could reach the coasts of Russia and Ecuador, Japan, Hawaii, Chile and the Solomon Islands.
Smaller waves were possible along coastlines across much of the Pacific, including the US West Coast, it said.
“Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii,” Donald Trump said in a social media post.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said a first tsunami wave of about 30cm reached Nemuro on the eastern coast of Hokkaido on Wednesday morning.
The country’s nuclear power plants along the Pacific coasts have suspended their work schedule, but so far no abnormalities have been reported.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter at higher grounds on the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure plant safety.
Tsunami warning sirens blared in Honolulu and people were told to move to higher ground. Authorities in Hawaii have also set up evacuation shelters at schools and community centres.
“We want everyone to stay safe,” said Honolulu Fire Department Chief Sheldon Hao. “Evacuate early so you don’t put yourself in a tough situation.”
The US National Weather Service has warned people against going to the coast to look for tsunami waves.
“This will NOT be a single wave. Do NOT try to go to the coast to take photos,” the National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area office posted on X.
The earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula was the strongest since 1952, according to the local branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In a statement posted on their Telegram channel, they called the earthquake a “unique event.”
“Significant, noticeable aftershocks with magnitudes up to 7.5 are expected to continue for at least another month,” it said.
A tsunami wave has also hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko.
Damage and evacuations were reported in the Russian regions nearest the quake’s epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The US Geological Survey recorded the quake as 8.8 magnitude and said it occurred at a depth of 20.7 kilometers, about 119km away from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000.
Russia’s Tass news agency said people in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ran out into the street without shoes or outerwear.
Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildings shook noticeably. Tass also reported power outages and mobile phone service failures.
Tass also quoted a local Russian official as saying residents on Sakhalin Island were being evacuated and emergency services were working at full capacity.
The National Tsunami Warning Center, based in Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and a watch for portions of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hawaii.
New Zealand authorities issued warnings of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” along its coastlines.
The advisory also includes a vast swath of Alaska’s coast line, including parts of the panhandle.
Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.
Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka.
In November 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-metre waves in Hawaii.
