Tsunami warning alerts: Is it safe to travel to Hawaii, Japan and Alaska right now?

Time Out

4 days ago

This morning at 11.24am, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, with a magnitude of 8.8, struck eastern Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. It has led to severe damage in nearby areas and widespread tsunami warnings for countries across the Pacific Ocean.
It's obviously worrying news if you're headed to that part of the world, so here is everything you need to know about travelling to Hawaii, Japan, or any of the other regions affected by the event.
Where was the epicentre of the earthquake?
This massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake (which is one of the strongest ever recorded) struck around 126 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in eastern Russia, at a depth of around 18km, according to the US geological survey.
Is it safe to travel?
Thankfully there are no reports of any injuries or fatalities so far, but this earthquake has already had vast impacts across the Pacific Ocean, with a long list of countries issuing tsunami warnings and millions already under evacuation orders.
Waves have started to hit American shores, first in Hawaii and also off the coast of northern California, but warnings of varied levels for waves have also been issued in Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, Colombia and Japan.
What are the latest warning alerts for each region?
Hawaii
The tsunami warning for the islands was downgraded earlier this morning to an advisory level, which means that while there is the potential of strong waves, minor flooding and strong currents, a major tsunami is not expected, and those who had been evacuated could return home.
Japan
Right now, Japan is at its mid-level alert, but according to the BBC people are being told to sit tight and wait to see the full impact in a few hours' time, with projections of waves up to 3m high – this could be even higher if the waves coincide with high tide.
Some flights have been cancelled and trains are affected, with residents in at-risk areas being told to stay on higher ground, such as in Hokkaido. Workers have been evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Japan has a robust natural disaster alert system, and citizens receive constant updates about the status of warnings direct to their phones.
US
Western US states like Washington, Oregon and Alaska, as well as British Colombia in Canada, are on alert. The first waves hit the state of Hawaii (see above) and now California, with initial measurements from the National Tsunami Warning Centre of waves at 0.48m hitting Arena Cove.
Waves of 0.42m were recorded in Monterey, and they have also now reached Port San Luis and San Francisco. In the former, the Los Angeles weather service said there's a 'rapid and damaging surge, going from low to high tide in just a few minutes.'
Russia
According to Reuters, a Russian official confirmed that a tsunami of between 3 and 4 metres was recorded in Kamchatka, but there's not much information about the warnings in place for the affected Russian regions.
Elsewhere
Tsunami warnings have been cancelled in the Philippines, but warnings of 2.2 metre waves in French Polynesia have been issued. There are also evacuation orders in place for Colombia's Pacific coast.
Have flights been disrupted?
CNBC has reported that several flights to Hawaii have been diverted to the US and plenty more are facing delays while carriers wait for the latest information. All flights to Maui have been cancelled.
'We are monitoring a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands and portions of the state of Alaska and assessing our flight operations. We are holding flight departures to the Islands on Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines,' said the carriers in a joint statement.
What is the UK Foreign Office saying?
The FCDO has issued an update for the countries at risk, which reads as follows: 'An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.7 has struck the eastern coast of Russia in the Kamchatka Peninsula region.'
The countries which have had their travel advisory pages updated are as follows: Chile, Kiribati, French Polynesia, Peru, USA, Samoa, Japan, Solomon Islands, Ecuador, Russia, New Zealand, Tonga, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Canada and Costa Rica.
Can I get a refund if I cancel my trip?
It's unusual for travel insurance to cover natural disasters, so if you don't want to travel or would prefer to reschedule your trip due to these tsunami warnings, you'll need to contact your travel provider directly to see what can be done.
If you have been evacuated, you should be able to seek reasonable compensation for your trip if the company you booked with fails to proactively offer vouchers or a refund, according to the Package Travel Regulations.
Regarding flights, you likely won't receive any compensation if flights are cancelled for reasons outside of the airline's control, such as in the instance of a natural disaster, so again it would be best to check directly with your transport provider about your rights if your journey has been impacted.
Other major earthquakes
This earthquake is one of the strongest ever recorded. Other major earthquakes include the 9.5 magnitude Biobío earthquake in Chile in 1960, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska in 1964 and the Sumatra earthquake in 2004, which was 9.1 and triggered a devastating tsunami.