Tsunami alert cancelled in Russia’s Severo-Kurilsk – Tass
The tsunami alert has been cancelled in Russia’s Severo-Kurilsk, state-owned Tass news agency reports.
Key events
Japan downgrades tsunami warnings
Japan has lifted all tsunami warnings, downgrading them to a tsunami advisory, Reuters reports, citing the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Central and South America order evacuations and issue tsunami warnings
Tom Phillips
Authorities in Central and South America have ordered evacuations and issued tsunami warnings after the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off Russia’s eastern coast.
In Colombia, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management said strong currents and tsunami waves were expected along the country’s Pacific coastline between Wednesday morning and lunchtime.
The unit called for a precautionary evacuation of beaches and areas of low tide in the western departments of Nariño and Chocó. “Please get yourselves to high places away from the coast,” it asked on X. In Chile, the education ministry suspended classes at schools along parts of its Pacific coast while the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service issued a yellow alert for a possible tsunami.
The service’s director, Alicia Cebrián, told reporters that the waves were first expected to hit Easter Island on Wednesday morning. “This information is dynamic and being permanently monitored,” Cebrián said, adding that evacuations would take place three hours before.
In Panama, Omar Smith Gallardo, the head of the National Civil Protection System, called for calm and urged residents of the Pacific coast to stay away from the coast until lunchtime. Panama had not been affected by larger earthquakes in the past but it was not possible to guarantee “100%” that would be the case this time.
Ecuador’s Oceanographic Institute of the Navy announced there was an “imminent danger” of a tsunami and said 1.4m waves were expected to hit the Galápagos Islands on Wednesday morning with larger waves potentially following.
We have updates on some of Russia’s tsunami warnings from Reuters.
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Russia has lifted the tsunami warning for Sakhalin, according to local authorities
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Russia has lifted tsunami warning for Kamchatka, according to IFX.
Tsunami alert cancelled in Russia’s Severo-Kurilsk – Tass
The tsunami alert has been cancelled in Russia’s Severo-Kurilsk, state-owned Tass news agency reports.
The Kremlin has said alert systems “worked well” in the earthquake response and there were “no casualties”, Reuters reports.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said initial reports indicate no safety impact for nuclear power plants along the Pacific Coast, Reuters reports.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said the Port San Luis gauge “shows a rapid and damaging surge, going from low to high tide in just a few minutes”.
In a post on X it added:
Do not return to inundated areas as waters will recede, but could return multiple times through the next 24 hours, and the first wave may not be the largest.
Waves of up to 4 metres are expected to hit the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia in the early hours of Wednesday, AFP reports citing local authorities.
Waves ranging from “1.10 metres to 4 metres” on the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas archipelago are expected overnight from around 1am local time (11.00 GMT), the High Commission of the French Republic in French Polynesia said in a statement, adding that the islands of Ua Huka and Hiva Oa are also expected to be affected.
We have more from Japan’s weather agency.
It has downgraded tsunami alerts issued for a wide swathe of the archipelago while keeping warnings unchanged for its northern areas, AFP reports.
Warnings for eastern Japan’s Ibaraki region all the way down to the southern Wakayama region have now been downgraded to “advisories”, Japan’s weather agency said on its website.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
AFP is reporting that Japan has downgraded tsunami alerts for many areas, citing its weather office.
There is no further tsunami threat to Guam, Rota, Tinian or Saipan, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has said, Reuters is reporting.
Tsunami waves of 3.6 ft (one metre) observed at Crescent City, California, Reuters reports, citing the National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC).
French Polynesia authorities issue tsunami warning for Marquesas Islands archipelago
Local authorities in French Polynesia have issued a tsunami warning for the Marquesas Islands archipelago, with waves of 1.10 to 2.20 metres expected to hit the islands of Ua Huka, Nuku Hiva, and Hiva Oa overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Residents were urged to move to higher ground and follow official instructions, including securing boats or moving them away from the shore.
Other archipelagos in French Polynesia may be affected by waves less than 30cm high, which do not require evacuation or sheltering, local authorities said.
Hawaii evacuation order lifted – Oahu EMA
The Oahu Emergency Management Agency (EMA) said that the evacuation order had been lifted and it was safe to return to previously evacuated areas, Reuters reports.
The EMA added that there was “no report of big damage”.
Flights have restarted at Honolulu international airport
Flights have restarted at Honolulu international airport in Hawaii, the Hawaii transportation department said, Reuters reports.
The Hawaiian Emergency Management Agency (EMA) announced that commercial harbours will also reopen.
Hawaii’s tsunami warning downgraded
Hawaii’s tsunami warning has been downgraded to an advisory with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) adding that “a major tsunami is not expected to strike the state of Hawaii”.
The PTWC, operated by the National Weather Service, said in an alert:
Based on all available data a major tsunami is not expected to strike the state of hawaii. However…sea level changes and strong currents may occur along all coasts that could be a hazard to swimmers and boaters as well as to persons near the shore at beaches and in harbors and marinas.
Tsunami waves of 1.6 ft above tide level observed in Arena Cove, California – US Weather Service
Tsunami waves of 1.6 ft (0.5 metres) above tide level have been observed in Arena Cove in the US state of California, the US National Weather Service has said.
It said that the tsunami warning remains in effect for the coastal areas of California from Cape Mendocino, California, to the Oregon/California border.
It added:
If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground. Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring. Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous many hours after initial arrival time. The first wave may not be the largest.