MOSCOW/TOKYO – A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on July 30, generating a tsunami of up to 4m, damaging buildings and prompting warnings and evacuations that stretched across the Pacific Ocean.
Several people were injured in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard – devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 – was ordered to evacuate.
“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, adding that a kindergarten was damaged.
A tsunami with a wave height of 3m to 4m was recorded in parts of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula in its Far East, after a powerful quake struck off the region, Mr Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations said on July 30
“All need to move away from water peaks,” he said in a video posted on social media.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was shallow, at a depth of 19.3km, and was centred about 125km east-south-east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 along the coast of Avacha Bay. It revised the earlier reading of an 8-magnitude quake.
Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko said on Telegram that an evacuation order was declared for the small town of Severo-Kurilsk after a tsunami warning was issued following the quake.
The Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded its tsunami warning, saying waves of up to 3m were expected, adding that the waves were expected to hit between 10am and 11.30am all the way down the northern and eastern coasts of Japan, as far as Wakayama south of Osaka.
Broadcaster NHK said evacuation orders had been issued by the government for some areas.
The first tsunami from a huge earthquake off Russia’s far east that sparked warnings around the Pacific was observed in northern Japan, measuring around 30cm, broadcaster NHK reported.
The wave hit the main northern island of Hokkaido, with NHK warning that subsequent waves could be much higher.
Factory workers and residents in Hokkaido evacuated to a hill overlooking the ocean, footage from broadcaster TBS showed.
“Please evacuate quickly. If you can move quickly to higher ground and away from the coast,” a newscaster on Japanese public broadcaster NHK said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was shallow, at a depth of 19.3km.
PHOTO: USGS
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Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan were evacuated.
“We have evacuated all workers and employees” at the Fukushima Daiichi plant – which went into meltdown after being hit by a tsunami in 2011 – a spokeswoman for plant operator Tepco told AFP, adding that “no abnormality” had been observed at the site.
The Philippines’ seismology agency advised people to stay away from beaches in coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean on July 30, as these regions are expected to experience tsunami waves of less than 1m in height.
Indonesia’s geophysics agency issued a warning that tsunami waves of less than 0.5m could hit some parts of Indonesia on July 30 afternoon following the earthquake in Russia.
The tsunami could reach some coastal cities and towns in the Papua region, North Maluku province and Gorontalo province, the agency said in a statement.
Warnings across the Pacific
The US Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of “hazardous tsunami waves” within the next three hours along some coasts of Russia and Japan.
Waves reaching more than 3m were possible along some coasts of Russia and Ecuador, while waves of 1m-3m were possible in 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.
Hawaii ordered evacuations from some coastal areas. “Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,” the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.
The Hawaii warning urged residents of low-lying areas to either move to higher ground or to the fourth floor of a building.
Several people sought medical assistance following the quake, Mr Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister told Russia’s TASS state news agency.
“Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” he said.
“All patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.”
The Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said it was a very powerful earthquake, the strongest to hit the region since 1952.
“However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high… as one might expect from such a magnitude,” it said in a video 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.”
Kamchatka and Russia’s far east sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire – a geologically active region prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. REUTERS
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