An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, triggering a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet) in the northern Pacific and initiating warnings from Alaska and Hawai’i to coastal regions as far south as New Zealand.
The tsunami is damaging buildings and prompting evacuation warnings in several areas of Japan and the United States. Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video, “Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors”. He added that a kindergarten was damaged because of the strong tremors.
The first tsunami wave struck the coastal regions of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement of Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, as per the local governor, Valery Limarenko.
A hit of a tsunami wave of a height of 3-4 meters was also recorded in parts of Kamchatka. A tsunami wave of 30 centimetres also hit Nemuro on the eastern coast of Hokkaido, as per the Japan Meteorology Agency. Tsunami warnings have been issued for coastal areas of Alaska, Hawaii, Chile, and the Solomon Islands. The tsunami waves of more than 3 metres are expected along some coastal areas of Ecuador.
The earthquake was around 119 kilometres away from the Russian City of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The area has a population of 180,000 on the Kamchatsky Peninsula.
More than 1.9 million people across Japan are advised to shift to safer areas as tsunami waves are disrupting transportation nationwide. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has initiated targeted evacuation impacting 1,905,596 residents in 21 prefectures.
Authorities in Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin zone declared a state of emergency for the northern Kuril Islands on Wednesday, as tsunami waves caused flooding and structural damage.
The US Tsunami Warning Centres alert that the tsunami waves are exceeding three metres above regular tide levels. So, it may strike the coastal regions of Russia, the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and Ecuador.
The US, Mexico, and Ecuador advised their citizens to stay away from vulnerable beaches. The agency also predicted that the tsunami waves between two and three metres could hit coastal regions of Guam, Hawaii, Japan, Chile, Costa Rica, and several other Pacific Islands.
In Australia, Colombia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Taiwan, waves of up to one metre are expected. As per the warning centres, the condition is “hazardous”.
The Honolulu Department of Emergency Management in Hawaii issued an evacuation of people in some coastal regions. The agency said on X, “Take action! Destructive tsunami waves expected”.
US President Donald Trump urged the citizens in Hawaii, Alaska, and along the Pacific coast to stay alert regarding the tsunami-related advisories. Trump said in a social media post, “STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE”.
