8.8-magnitude quake in Russia’s Far East causes tsunami; Japan and Hawaii order evacuations

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, the strongest in the region since 1952, damaging buildings and generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13ft) that prompted warnings and evacuations stretching across the Pacific Ocean.

A powerful earthquake off the coast of Russia has triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific, prompting emergency evacuations from Russia's far-east to northern Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast.

The 8.8 magnitude quake struck near Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula at 11:25 local time on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).

It is one of the 10 most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, the US Geological Survey said. However there have been no initial reports of severe damage or injury.

Thousands of people in nations across the Pacific evacuated to higher ground, but in many regions, tsunami warnings have been downgraded.

On the west coast of the United States, waves continue to roll through, however, heading south.

Crescent City in northern California recorded waves of up to 1.09m (3.6ft), according to the National Tsunami Warning Centre.

Further south, there were tidal surges of up to 0.7m in San Francisco.

And even further south, the Los Angeles weather service said that Port San Luis was seeing a "rapid and damaging surge, going from low to high tide".

In Hawaii, where thousands of people along the coast fled for higher ground, waves of 1.2m (4ft) hit Oahu, and even larger ones of 1.7m struck Maui.

Governor Josh Green did not hold back when he warned residents: "It is not a regular wave. It will actually kill you if you get hit by a tsunami."

However, a few hours later he reported that: "So far we have not seen a wave of consequence".

The tsunami warning for Hawaii was downgraded to an advisory level by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC), meaning there is the potential for strong waves, currents and minor flooding, but a major tsunami is no longer expected.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency director, Stephen Logan, said those evacuated may now return home but urged people to be careful, drive slowly, and watch for flooding.

Russian Emergencies Ministry via EPA A rescue worker wearing a red hard hat stands in front of a damaged building that is two storeys tall and the front of it looks like it has been ripped awayRussian Emergencies Ministry via EPA

Geophysical Survey Of The Russian Academy Of Sciences via EPA Aerial shot showing brown ocean water flooding into industrial landGeophysical Survey Of The Russian Academy Of Sciences via EPA

In the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, several buildings were damaged by the earthquake, including this nursery - but initial reports say no one has been seriously hurt

Pictures from the Russian town of Severo-Kurilsk in the Sakhalin region show flood waters swamping some coastal areas

In Russia, where the quake originated, tsunami waves of up to 5m (16ft) struck areas including Severo-Kurilsk, a port town of about 2,000 people. No major injuries or damage have been reported and officials have now lifted the tsunami warning for Kamchatka.

The Sakhalin region declared a state of emergency in the northern Kuril islands, where the power grid was shut down after it was damaged by the quake.

Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov described it as the most powerful earthquake the region has experienced in decades. At least six aftershocks followed, including one measuring 6.9.

In Japan, thousands were woken by tsunami sirens, with waves more than a metre high hitting the Pacific coast, particularly in Iwate prefecture where nearly two million people were told to evacuate.

A map showing where the quake hit, in relation to Russia, China and Japan. It struck near the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsular, which is north of Japan.

Authorities have since downgraded the tsunami warning to advisory for many areas, spanning from the north of Tokyo down to Wakayama in the south-west.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said there was no confirmation of any damage so far.

At the embattled Fukushima nuclear plant, all 4,000 workers were evacuated, but the plant's operators said there were no "abnormalities" detected.

In March 2011, the plant was hit by a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, leading to a nuclear meltdown.

British Columbia, in Canada, has issued a tsunami advisory for most coastal areas, where residents have been told to avoid the ocean and await the all-clear.

Reuters People standing on a raised pedestrian overpass, which is on top of a carpark. They are looking out over the city.Reuters

People take shelter at a temporary tsunami evacuation site in Kushiro, Hokkaido, in northern Japan

In French Polynesia, officials raised predicted wave heights for Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands to 4m, with smaller waves of just under a metre expected on surrounding islands.

Tsunami alerts remain in place for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and coastal residents have been told to evacuate to higher ground.

China's alert for Zhejiang Province and Shanghai has been lifted, with no reported damage. The Philippines has also cancelled its alerts

Smaller tsunami wave activity between 1m-3m is possible along some coasts of Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand and Tonga.

In Peru, officials have issued a tsunami warning and are keeping "constant surveillance" on the situation.

The tsunami warning was triggered by a powerful earthquake which struck about 126km (78 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, at a depth of 18km, the United States Geological Survey reported.

The agency said that the tremor was tied as the sixth most severe quake in history, with the 2010 earthquake in Biobío, Chile, and the 1906 earthquake in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.

Several people were injured in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard — devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 — was ordered to evacuate.

“Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,” Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

A tsunami with a height of 3-4 metres (10-13 ft) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, said Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, urging people to move away from the shoreline.

Russian authorities said a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, while local media said one wave of between three and four metres high was recorded in the Elizovsky district of Kamchatka.

The magnitude 8.8 quake struck at 8:24 am (4am PKT) off Petropavlovsk on Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula and was one of the 10 biggest recorded, according to the US Geological Survey.

The USGS said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km, and was centred 119 km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000.

The epicentre of the earthquake is roughly the same as the massive 9.0 temblor in 1952, which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami, according to the USGS.

In December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed around 220,000 people in 11 nations.

“The strongest earthquake since 1952 has just occurred in the Kamchatka seismic zone … Given the scale of the event, strong aftershocks with a magnitude of up to 7.5 should be expected,” Kamchatka’s geophysical service said on Telegram.

Thirty additional tremors were recorded following the main earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula, a regional branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.

Several people sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told Russia’s TASS state news agency.

“Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” Melnikov said.

“All patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.”

While a kindergarten was also damaged, most buildings withstood the quake, and no fatalities had been reported, the ministry added.

Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that the port in the Sakhalin town of Severo-Kurilsk and a fish processing plant there were partially flooded by a tsunami. The population has been evacuated.

“Everyone was evacuated. There was enough time, a whole hour. So everyone was evacuated, all the people are in the tsunami safety zone,” Mayor Kuril Islands district Alexander Ovsyannikov said at a crisis meeting with officials.

Authorities in Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin region declared a state of emergency in the northern Kuril Islands.

“A state of emergency has been declared in the North Kuril District, where an earthquake and tsunami occurred today,” the Sakhalin government said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team recorded that the Klyuchevskoy volcano — a highly active volcano in the region — ejected ash to a height of up to 3 km (1.8 miles) above sea level as a result of the quake, Al Jazeera reported.

“The volcano is continuing to erupt explosively at the summit. Ash emissions at altitudes up to 8km [4.9 miles] above sea level may occur at any time,” said KVERT in a statement.

KVERT has assigned an orange colour code for aviation hazards to the volcano, which indicates an increased likelihood of eruption.

The whole Pacific coast of Japan has reported tsunami waves, Al Jazeera reported, citing Japanese broadcaster NHK World.

Waves as high as 60cm (1.9ft) were recorded along some parts of the coast, including Kuji Port and Hamanaka town, according to NHK.

The size of the waves has grown steadily from 20cm (0.6ft) earlier this morning, and authorities say they could reach as high as 3 metres (9.8ft).

Tsunami warning advisories will be in place across Japan for at least the next 24 hours, the Japanese broadcaster said.

Earlier, Japan’s weather agency issued a warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10ft) to reach large coastal areas starting around 1am GMT (6am PKT).

Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan’s Pacific coast with authorities urging people to seek higher ground.

Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed scores of people in the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering under tents from the beating sun, as fishing boats left harbours to avoid potential damage from the incoming waves.

“We came here hoping to swim, but once we heard a tsunami warning had been issued, we didn’t go in at all, not even close to the water,” local Tomoyo Fujita, 35, told AFP as she left the area with her young daughter.

Television footage showed several whales washed up on a beach.

Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said.

There were no injuries or damage reported so far, and no irregularities at any nuclear plants, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

The US Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of “hazardous tsunami waves” within the next three hours.

Waves reaching more than 3 metres were possible along some coasts of Russia and Ecuador, while waves of 1-3 metres were possible in Japan, Hawaii, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Guam, Chile and the Solomon Islands, it said. Smaller waves were possible along coastlines across much of the Pacific, including the US West Coast.

Waves of up to one metre were possible elsewhere, including Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Tonga and Taiwan.It described the potential conditions as “hazardous.”

“Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii,” US President Donald Trump said in a social media post.

“A Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Japan is also in the way. Please visit tsunami.gov/ for the latest information. Stay strong and stay safe!” Tsunami alerts were pushed to mobile phones in California, according to local AFP reporters.

Hawaii ordered evacuations from some coastal areas. “Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,” the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.

The Hawaii warning urged residents of low-lying areas to either move to higher ground or to the fourth floor of a building.

The US Tsunami Warning Centres issued a Tsunami Warning — its highest level alert — for the entire US state of Hawaii, with the first waves expected at 7:17pm local time (10:17pm PKT).

“People are also advised to stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast,” the seismology centre said in a warning.

In Mexico, the Navy warned that strong currents are expected at port entrances from Baja California in the northwest to Chiapas in the south of Mexico, AFP reported.

The country has mobilised authorities at all levels of government to keep its population away from Pacific beaches.

Following suit, Peru also issued a statement warning of a possible tsunami.

“After an analysis and evaluation by the National Tsunami Warning Centre, it has been determined that this event generates a tsunami warning for the Peruvian coast,” the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation of the Peruvian Navy said in a statement, adding that the situation “will be kept under constant surveillance.”

Ecuador officials ordered ‘preventive evacuations’ from Galapagos beaches and the suspension of all maritime activities, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, China’s tsunami warning centre said that waves of between 30 centimetres and one metre were expected to hit parts of the eastern seaboard.

“Based on the latest warning and analysis results, the Tsunami Advisory Centre of the Ministry of National Resources has determined that the earthquake has triggered a tsunami, which is expected to cause damage to certain coastal areas of China,” the advisory centre said.

Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The Russian Academy of Sciences said it was the strongest quake to hit the region since 1952.

“However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high … as one might expect from such a magnitude,” said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service, on Telegram.

“Aftershocks are currently ongoing … Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.”