Tokyo: A magnitude-8.7 earthquake in Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, July 30, prompted tsunami warnings in parts of Japan, Alaska and Hawaii.
It also triggered a tsunami in the northern Pacific region and prompted warnings for Alaska, Hawaii and other coasts south toward New Zealand.
Damage and evacuations were reported in the Russian regions nearest the quake’s epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 meters above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan and the Solomon Islands. Waves of more than 3 meters (yards) were possible along some coastal areas of Russia and Ecuador.
Tsunami warning in Japan
Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami alert for Japan’s Pacific coast, saying waves up to 3 meter could arrive along the northern Japanese coasts less than half an hour after the alert.
A tsunami of 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) was detected at the Ishinomaki port in northern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. That was the highest measurement so far among several locations around northern Japan.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami had been generated by the quake that could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.
“Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,” the warning stated. The first waves were expected around 7 p.m. Tuesday local time.
The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. Japan and the U.S. Geological Survey later updated their measurements to 8.7 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 19.3 kilometers.
The quake was about 250 kilometers away from Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan’s NHK television.
People run out of houses in Russia
Russia’s Tass news agency reported from the biggest city near the epicenter, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, that many people ran out into the street without shoes or outerwear. Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildings shook noticeably.
Tass also reported power outages and mobile phone service failures in the capital of the Kamchatka region.
Tass also quoted a local Russian official as saying residents on Sakhalin Island were being evacuated and emergency services were working at full capacity.
The National Tsunami Warning Center, based in Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and a watch for portions of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hawaii.
The advisory also includes a vast swath of Alaska’s coast line, including parts of the panhandle.
Powerful earthquakes last month
Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000.
On Nov. 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter waves in Hawaii.
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