Massive 8.8 quake in Russia sparks Pacific tsunami alert, evacuation warnings

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early on Wednesday, triggering four-metre (13-foot) tsunami waves and sparking evacuation orders in Hawaii and across the Pacific. The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard – devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 – was ordered to evacuate. A resident in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky said the shaking rumbled for several minutes. “I decided to leave the building,” said Yaroslav, 25. “It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least 3 minutes.” Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia’s emergency ministry said. “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. Russian scientists said it was the most powerful quake to hit the region since 1952. In Hawaii, coastal residents were told to get to high ground or the fourth floor or above of buildings, and the US Coast Guard ordered ships out of harbours as the tsunami approached. “Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,” the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on social media. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said waves of up to 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) were affecting the Hawaiian islands. State Governor Josh Green had earlier said no waves of consequence had hit Hawaii but all flights in and out of Maui had been cancelled. Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that a kindergarten was damaged but most buildings withstood the quake. No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles), and centred 119km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier and reported a series of strong aftershocks of up to a magnitude of 6.9. Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan’s Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people. Tsunami waves of between one metre and three metres (three feet to nine feet) can be fatal for people who are swept away, said Japanese broadcaster NHK. They can also cause flooding and damage wooden buildings, with people at risk of being killed by large drifting objects, according to the Japan Lifesaving Association. The US Tsunami Warning System also warned of “hazardous tsunami waves” spreading across the Pacific. Waves reaching more than 3 metres (9.8 feet) were possible along some coasts of Russia, the northern Hawaiian Islands and Ecuador, while waves of one metre to three metres (3.2 to 9.8 feet) were possible in countries including Japan, Hawaii, Chile and the Solomon Islands, it said. Smaller waves were possible along coastlines across much of the Pacific, including the US West Coast. “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. Several people in Russia’s Kamchatka region sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told the TASS state news agency. In Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, south of Kamchatka, tsunami waves exceeded three metres, with the largest up to five metres, Russia’s RIA news agency reported. Alexander Ovsyannikov, the town’s mayor, said four tsunami waves had passed. Several people in Kamchatka sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told Russia’s TASS state news agency. Ovsyannikov urged residents to assess damage to their homes and not to use gas stove heating until inspections had been carried out, in order to avoid a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Power to the Sakhalin region had been cut off due to damage to the electricity grid, RIA said, citing the regional governor. 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. “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.”

Massive 8.8 quake in Russia sparks Pacific tsunami alert, evacuation warnings

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Russia said the earthquake off the Kamchatka peninsula was ‘the strongest in decades’

Russia said the earthquake off the Kamchatka peninsula was ‘the strongest in decades’