An 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early on Wednesday has caused tsunami waves in Russia, Japan and Alaska and prompted warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 metres above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan, Solomon Islands, Russia and Ecuador.
The earthquake was the strongest in the region since 1952, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, and struck at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles). It was centred 126km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city along Russia’s Avacha Bay. Early reports of damage have come from Russia, with Kamchatka’s governor describing the quake in a post on Telegram as “serious and the strongest in decades of tremors”. A kindergarten in the area had been damaged, he said.
A tsunami wave swept away buildings on the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to local officials. The regional authorities declared a state of emergency but mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said all residents were safe and had been evacuated. The country’s emergency ministry said parts of the town had been flooded.
Japan issued evacuation warnings and officials said three tsunami waves had been recorded, the largest of which was 60cm. Officials said waves up to 3 metres could arrive along the northern Japanese coast. Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan were evacuated, with plant operator Tepco saying that “no abnormality” had been observed at the site. The Fukushima Daiichi plant went into meltdown after being hit by a tsunami in 2011.
In the US, tsunami warning sirens blared in Honolulu and people were told to move to higher ground. 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. Donald Trump posted on Truth Social urging Americans to “stay strong and stay safe” after the tsunami warnings
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
A warning was issued that tsunami waves of less than 0.5 metres could hit some parts of Indonesia. The tsunami could reach some coastal cities and towns in the Papua region, North Maluku province and Gorontalo province, a local agency said in a statement.
Peru also issued a tsunami alert. The president of the country’s Geophysical Institute, Hernando Tavera, told AFP the tsunami “generated by this earthquake is expected to reach the Peruvian coast on Wednesday morning, with waves not expected to exceed three meters in height.”
Mexico said it was mobilising authorities at all levels of government to keep its population away from Pacific beaches. The Mexican Navy warned that strong currents are expected at port entrances from Baja California in the north-west to Chiapas in the south of Mexico.