A tsunami sent waves into parts of Russia, Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the Russian Far East early Wednesday.
A tsunami sent waves into parts of Russia, Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the Russian Far East early Wednesday.
The quake was one of the biggest ever recorded. Several people were injured, but none gravely. No major damage has been reported.
The danger appeared to be subsiding in some places. But Chile upgraded its warning to the highest level for most of its lengthy Pacific coast, and New Zealand has said tsunami activist has begun to reach its shores, about 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometers) from the quake’s epicenter.
Here’s the latest:
Emergency management officials say coastlines of New Zealand are experiencing strong currents and wave surges as tsunami activity reaches shores.
It’s early morning Thursday in New Zealand. An alert broadcast to every cell phone says the threat is likely to remain in place until at least midday. Evacuations haven’t been ordered. But people throughout the South Pacific island nation are warned to stay out of the water and away from beaches, shorelines, harbors, rivers and estuaries.
New Zealand is about 6000 miles (9,656 kilometers) from the quake’s epicenter. Officials warn that the first tsunami waves might not be the largest to arrive and people should treat the threat as real until the alert is canceled.
The tsunami advisory is canceled for Oregon and Washington state.
Experts say it’s challenging to know exactly when all of the tsunami alerts and advisories will be dropped.
“It’s kind of hard to predict because this is such an impactful event and has created so many of these waves passing by. It’s hard to say exactly when they’re going to be done,” said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator for the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska.
Snider said tsunami advisories are still in effect for Hawaii, parts of Alaska and parts of California.
A spokesperson for Alaska’s state emergency management agency, Jeremy Zidek, says in a text that no damage has been reported.
The community of Adak recorded the largest tsunami wave in Alaska at 2.7 feet, or less than a meter.
“I think what really surprised us, given the magnitude of that earthquake on Kamchatka, is that we didn’t feel a thing,” Adak City Manager Breck Craig said. “The bad thing is, that it might be our turn next.”
Officials in Colombia have ordered the complete closure and evacuation of beaches and low-tide areas along the country’s Pacific coast.
Maritime traffic is also being restricted. Officials say strong currents and tsunami waves were possible in two coastal states, including one that borders Ecuador.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the threat of a major tsunami hitting the United States “has passed completely.”
Noem, speaking in Chile where she is attending meetings with officials, told reporters in the capital, Santiago: “We’re in really good shape right now. We were fully deployed and ready to respond if necessary, but grateful that we didn’t have to deal with the situation that this could have been.”
Chile has upgraded its tsunami warning to its highest level.
The red alert covers most of its 6,400-kilometer (4,000-mile) Pacific coastline, from Arica and Parinacota near its northern border to Magallanes in the far south.
The Education Ministry also canceled classes along much of the coast.
Lava has begun to flow from the largest active volcano in the northern hemisphere Wednesday following the earthquake off Russia’s far eastern coast.
The Klyuchevskaya Sopka — which last erupted in 2023 — stands at 4,750 meters (15,584 feet) in the east of Russia’s Kamchatka region.
Observers heard explosions and saw streams of lava on the volcano’s western slopes, the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ geophysical service said.
Scientists have anticipated an eruption, with the volcano’s crater filling with lava for several weeks and the mountain spitting out plumes of ash.
Sometimes described as the “land of fire and ice,” Kamchatka is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. It has about 300 volcanoes, of which 29 are active, according to NASA Earth Observatory.
Officials warned people to stay away from beaches and waterways in Crescent City, California, which has observed dozens of tsunamis since the 1930s, including one that killed 11 people and destroyed hundreds of buildings in the city in 1964.
The warning came after a 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Far East coast on Wednesday. The U.S. National Weather Service’s Eureka office reported tsunami waves with a maximum height of 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) in Crescent City — enough to create minor coastal flooding and inundation.
AloJapan.com