Tsunami waves reach Hawaii and head for US west coast after major earthquake strikes Russia
8.8 magnitude quake hits near city of Petropavlovsk-KamchatskyTsunami of 3-5 metres recorded in Kamchatka PeninsulaWarnings for Japan, Hawaii, US West Coast and other Pacific nationsLargest quake in region since 1952, Russian science academy says
A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggered tsunami waves of up to 5 metres (16 feet) and sparked evacuation orders in Hawaii and across the Pacific on Wednesday.
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.
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The Journal
3 days ago
- The Journal
Millions return home as Pacific tsunami warnings lifted
COUNTRIES ACROSS THE Pacific rim have lifted tsunami warnings, allowing millions of temporary evacuees to return home. After one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded rattled Russia's sparsely populated Far East, more than a dozen nations – from Japan to the United States to Ecuador – warned citizens to stay away from coastal regions . Storm surges of up to four metres were predicted for some parts of the Pacific, after the 8.8 quake struck off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula. The tsunami warnings caused widespread disruption. Peru closed 65 of its 121 Pacific ports and authorities on Maui cancelled flights to and from the Hawaiian island. But fears of a catastrophe were not realised, with country after country lifting or downgrading warnings and telling coastal residents they could return. In Japan, almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground, before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast, with waves up to 0.7 metres still being observed on Thursday. 'We urge the public not to go in coastal waters and please stay away from coasts,' a seismologist at Japan's meteorological agency said. The only reported fatality was a woman killed when her car fell off a cliff in Japan as she tried to escape on Wednesday, local media reported. In Chile, authorities conducted what the Interior Ministry said was 'perhaps the most massive evacuation ever carried out in our country' – with 1.4 million people ordered to high ground. Chilean authorities reported no damage or victims and registered waves of just 60 centimeters on the country's north coast. An evacuation route sign, in case of a tsunami, stands in Valparaiso, Chile Alamy Alamy In the Galapagos Islands, where waves of up to three meters were expected, there was relief as the Ecuadoran navy's oceanographic institute said the danger had passed. Locals reported the sea level falling and then rising suddenly, a phenomenon which is commonly seen with the arrival of a tsunami. Advertisement But only a surge of just over a meter was reported, causing no damage. 'Everything is calm, I'm going back to work. The restaurants are reopening and the places tourists visit are also open again,' said 38-year-old Santa Cruz resident Isabel Grijalva. Ewa Beach residents evacuated at the side of Kunia Road to escape the tsunami threat Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii Alamy Alamy Earlier, national parks were closed, schools were shuttered, loudspeakers blared warnings and tourists were spirited off sightseeing boats and onto the safety of land. The worst damage was seen in Russia, where a tsunami crashed through the port of Severo-Kurilsk and submerged the local fishing plant, officials said. Russian state television footage showed buildings and debris swept into the sea. The surge of water reached as far as the town's World War II monument about 400 meters from the shoreline, said Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov. The initial quake also caused limited damage and only light injuries, despite being the strongest since 2011, when 15,000 people were killed in Japan. Russian scientists reported that the Klyuchevskoy volcano erupted shortly after the earthquake. 'Red-hot lava is observed flowing down the western slope. There is a powerful glow above the volcano and explosions,' said Russia's Geophysical Survey. Pacific alerts Wednesday's quake was the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952, the regional seismic monitoring service said, warning of aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude. The US Geological Survey said the quake was one of the 10 strongest tremors recorded since 1900. It was followed by dozens of aftershocks that further shook the Russian Far East, including one of 6.9 magnitude. The USGS said there was a 59% chance of an aftershock of more than 7.0 magnitude in the next week.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Volcano erupts after 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia triggers tsunami warnings around Pacific
The shallow quake 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, as were parts of Hawaii. By the evening, Japan, Hawaii and Russia had downgraded most tsunami warnings. But authorities in French Polynesia warned residents of several of the remote Marquesas Islands to move to higher ground and expect waves as high as 2.5metres (8 feet). Tsunami waves began hitting the Marquesas on Wednesday but were forecast to be smaller than initially feared, local authorities said. Some initial wave surges were reported on Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas, about 1,400 km northeast of Tahiti, and between five to 10 additional waves were expected in the coming hours, the high commission said. Russian scientists said the quake in Kamchatka was the most powerful to hit the region since 1952. The US Geological Survey said it was shallow, at a depth of 19.3km, and centred 119 km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000. "It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes," said Yaroslav, 25, in the city. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there had been no casualties in Russia, crediting solid building construction and the smooth operation of alert systems. In Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, tsunami waves exceeded 3 metres, with the largest up to 5 metres, Russia's RIA news agency reported. A quake of magnitude 6.07 later struck the Kuril Islands that lie between Kamchatka and northern Japan, the German Research Center for Geosciences said. Tsunami waves partially flooded the port and a fish processing plant in the town, sweeping vessels from moorings, regional officials and Russia's emergency ministry said. Verified drone footage showed the town's entire shoreline submerged, with taller buildings and some storage facilities surrounded by water. The Klyuchevskoy volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula began erupting later, a geological monitoring service said. Located around 450 km north of the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Klyuchevskoy is one of the highest volcanoes in the world. "A descent of burning hot lava is observed on the western slope. Powerful glow above the volcano, explosions," the Russian Academy of Sciences' United Geophysical Service said on Telegram. WAVES IN HAWAII, JAPAN Hawaii recorded waves of up to 1.7 metres while in Japan the largest recorded came to 1.3metres, officials said. Flights out of Honolulu airport resumed in the evening, the transportation department said. Waves of nearly half a metre were observed as far away as California, with smaller ones reaching Canada's province of British Columbia. But a tsunami advisory was cancelled for coastal British Columbia as well as coastal areas of south Alaska. In French Polynesia, waves hit some islands in the early morning hours. In other parts, wave heights were expected to remain below 30 cm, not requiring evacuation or sheltering. While the Marquesas are high-rising volcanic islands, much of French Polynesia consists of low-lying atolls. WARNINGS ACROSS THE PACIFIC Authorities in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, some 970 km off South America's western coast, ordered precautionary evacuations to safe zones. Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan's Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people. Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said no injuries or damage had been reported, and there were no irregularities at any nuclear plants. 'RING OF FIRE' 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 quake occurred on what is known as a "megathrust fault" where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, according to scientists. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula off Russia's Far East coast especially vulnerable, and bigger aftershocks could not be ruled out, they said. Video footage from the region's health ministry showed a team of medics in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky performing surgery as the quake shook their operating theatre. The medics used their hands to try to steady both the patient and their equipment, CCTV footage released by the Kamchatka region's health ministry showed.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Dramatic moment world knew Hawaii tsunami was coming after 8.8 mag earthquake shook Ring of Fire sparking evacuations
HAUNTING footage shows the moment ocean water receded along a Hawaii shoreline before the first tsunami wave crashed into the coast. At around 7:20 pm local time on Tuesday, the sea was seen drawing back around the time the first wave hit the island and forced residents to evacuate. 4 Footage from Hanalei Bay showed ocean water pulling back before tsunami waves struck Credit: Hawaii News Now 4 Tsunami waves barrel toward the Oarai coast in Japan on July 30, 2025 Credit: Getty 4 Tsunami waves hit Hawaii after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Far East site on the Pacific Ring of Fire on Wednesday, marking one of the strongest quakes ever recorded. Waves from the quake reached Hawaii, Japan, California, and Washington, and left several people injured as they rushed to safety, but none critically. A time-lapse video taken around the time the sun set at Hanalei Bay, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, shows water being pulled away from the shore as clouds loom over the beach. Soon after the eerie clip was recorded, waves as high as 3.9 feet barreled toward the coast, where surveillance footage at Hanalei Colony Resort also showed the dramatic activity. READ MORE NEWS Water recedes right before a tsunami when the lowest part of the tsunami wave reaches the coast first. Hawaii was braced for the Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned residents to seek higher ground in the face of the expected waves. Evacuation protocols were put in place quickly, and most coastal zones were cleared by 6:30. Most read in The US Sun However, Hawaii's alert level was downgraded to a tsunami advisory just before 11 pm, according to the The evacuation orders were lifted on the Big Island and Oahu, allowing people to return to their homes. Heartbreaking vid shows whales washed up on beach after Russian mega quake But the advisory means there could still be dangerous waves and some flooding on beaches or harbors. Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, said the effects of the extreme weather could last for more than a day, according to the 'A tsunami is not just one wave,' Snider said. 'It's a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. "But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that's where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.' What causes tsunamis? Here are the facts... Tsunami is a Japanese word used to describe huge waves – generally on oceans, but sometimes in lakes or large rivers Ocean tsunamis are caused by sudden motions, which displace a large amount of water This is typically an earthquake, but it could also be a volcanic eruption or underwater landslide A huge impact into water – like a large landslide or meteor – can also cause tsunamis When an earthquake happens, huge tectonic plates crunch together When the 'snap' eventually happens, this gives a large shove to water This creates a tsunami that travels very quickly across the open oceans As the ocean becomes shallower, the tsunami wave is forced upwards This means tsunami waves typically grow very quickly in height (and slow down) as they approach the shallow shorelines near land Tsunamis are typically a series of waves, rather than one single wave As they approach land, these waves get closer together One of the best ways to spot an incoming tsunami is a sudden retreat of coastal water If the tide goes out very quickly, it's a telling sign that something is wrong What you're actually seeing is the trough of the incoming tsunami wave – on a huge scale The initial tsunami impact can be deadly But tsunami flooding is also highly dangerous to life, damaging buildings, destroying infrastructure, spreading waste and disease, and drowning people Travelers heading to Hawaii have been On Wednesday morning, tsunami activity continued in California, with waves reaching heights However, the highest tsunami waves were recorded in sections of the Kamchatka coast, where the earthquake struck, according to Russia's Oceanology Institute. The mega quake struck about 84 miles off the coast at a shallow depth of 12 miles. The earthquake was the sixth largest ever recorded. Nearly 2 million people were told to evacuate in Japan and Russia's Kuril Islands in the Pacific. Hours after the shock, 4 A person walking along Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, after officials warned about tsunami waves on July 30, 2025 Credit: Reuters
