A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit off Russia\u2019s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, damaging buildings and triggering a tsunami up to 4 meters (13 feet) high, prompting widespread evacuation alerts across the Pacific region. Several injuries were reported in the remote Russian area, while evacuation orders were issued along much of Japan\u2019s eastern coast \u2014 an area still haunted by the devastating 2011 quake and tsunami. \u201cThis was a major earthquake \u2014 the strongest in decades,\u201d said Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov in a video message shared on Telegram. A tsunami with a height of 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, said Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, urging people to move away from the shoreline. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier, and reported a strong aftershock of magnitude 6.9 soon after. Japan\u2019s weather agency upgraded its warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT (6am PKT). Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan\u2019s Pacific coast with authorities urging people to seek higher ground. Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed scores of people in the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering under tents from the beating sun, as fishing boats left harbours to avoid potential damage from the incoming waves. Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said. There were no injuries or damage reported so far, and no irregularities at any nuclear plants, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. Warnings across the Pacific The US Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of \u201chazardous tsunami waves\u201d within the next three hours. Waves reaching more than 3 metres were possible along some coasts of Russia and Ecuador, while waves of 1-3 metres 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. \u201cDue to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii,\u201d US President Donald Trump said in a social media post. \u201cA Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Japan is also in the way. Please visit tsunami.gov\/ for the latest information. Stay strong and stay safe!\u201d Hawaii ordered evacuations from some coastal areas. \u201cTake Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,\u201d 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, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told Russia\u2019s TASS state news agency. \u201cUnfortunately, 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,\u201d Melnikov said. \u201cAll patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.\u201d Russia\u2019s Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that the port in the Sakhalin town of Severo-Kurilsk and a fish processing plant there were partially flooded by a tsunami. The population has been evacuated. While a kindergarten was also damaged, most buildings withstood the quake, and no fatalities had been reported, the ministry added. \u2018Ring of fire\u2019Kamchatka and Russia\u2019s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Russian Academy of Sciences said it was the strongest quake to hit the region since 1952. \u201cHowever, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high \u2026 as one might expect from such a magnitude,\u201d said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service, on Telegram. \u201cAftershocks are currently ongoing \u2026 Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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