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.
In Hawaii, coastal residents were told to get to high ground or the fourth floor or above of buildings, and the US Coast Guard ordered ships out of harbours as the tsunami approached.
“Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,” the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said 1-1.2-metre waves were impacting the Hawaiian islands.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said so far, no waves of consequence have hit the islands, but all flights in and out of Maui were cancelled.
Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia’s emergency ministry said.
“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. Russian scientists said it was the most powerful quake to hit the region since 1952.
Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that a kindergarten was damaged, but most buildings withstood the quake. No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported.
