An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early Wednesday, generating tsunami waves across the Pacific and prompting warnings from Hawaii to New Zealand.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of one to three metres above tide level were possible along coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan, Solomon Islands, Russia and Ecuador.
The earthquake, the strongest in the region since 1952, occurred at a depth of 19.3km and was centred 126km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky along Russia’s Avacha Bay, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences.
A tsunami wave swept away buildings in Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands, local officials said. Regional authorities declared a state of emergency, though Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov confirmed all residents were safe and evacuated.
Russia’s emergency ministry reported parts of the town were flooded.
Kamchatka’s governor described the earthquake as “serious and the strongest in decades” on Telegram, noting damage to a local kindergarten.
Japan issued evacuation warnings after recording three tsunami waves, the largest measuring 60cm. Officials warned waves up to three metres could reach northern Japanese coasts. Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant were evacuated as a precaution, with operator Tepco reporting “no abnormality” at the facility that suffered meltdown after the 2011 tsunami.
Tsunami warning sirens sounded in Honolulu, with residents told to move to higher ground. The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and watches for California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
New Zealand’s disaster management agency warned of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” but said no immediate evacuation was needed whilst advising citizens to avoid beaches.
Indonesia warned of tsunami waves under 0.5 metres potentially affecting Papua, North Maluku and Gorontalo provinces. Peru issued alerts for Wednesday morning waves not exceeding three metres height.
Mexico mobilised authorities to keep populations away from Pacific beaches, with the navy warning of strong currents from Baja California to Chiapas.
(information from The Guardian)
