An 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck an area near Kamchatka, Russia, on Tuesday night. Subsequent tsunami waves have already reached the Japanese island of Hokkaido and authorities have issued warnings for much of northern and eastern Japan. It is expected that further waves could reach heights of up to three metres. Over 1.9 million people have been urged to evacuate. Tsunami warnings have also been issued for the US, Russia and other countries in the Pacific.
According to the Japanese public broadcaster NHK The first wave arrived at Hokkaido shortly after the earthquake and reached a height of approximately 30 centimetres. However, the Japan Meteorological Agency warns that subsequent waves could be much higher and pose a real danger to coastal areas, particularly in the north-east of the country.
The Guardian said Japanese authorities have ordered the evacuation of more than 1.9 million people in several prefectures along the Pacific coast. The warnings apply to Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi. At the same time, authorities have also evacuated staff at the Fukushima nuclear power plants as a precautionary measure, where no technical problems have been reported so far.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in the sea off Kamchatka, approximately 270 kilometres east of the town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. As the Russian state agency TASS, the 8.8-magnitude tremor struck an area approximately 20 kilometres deep. Waves around three to four metres high have already arrived in the Russian Kuril Islands. According to Russian authorities, several people were slightly injured, mostly in the chaotic evacuation.
Meanwhile, the tsunami wave has spread to the wider Pacific. US authorities have issued a warning for Hawaii and Alaska, while the states of California, Oregon and Washington are in "tsunami watch" mode. A wave of almost two metres has been observed off some of the Hawaiian islands, but so far without major damage.
According to Politico a Associated Press tsunami warnings have been issued in other countries - including New Zealand, Micronesia, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea, Peru and Ecuador. In some areas, ports have been closed and shipping has been temporarily disrupted.
As she reminded TASS news agencythe Kamchatka region is very active seismically. A similarly strong earthquake was last recorded here in 1952. The current tremor is also the strongest in the region in the last decade and one of the strongest to hit the Pacific region since the catastrophic earthquake in Japan in 2011.
It is expectedthat the following hours will be crucial. Meteorological agencies in both Japan and the US are warning that the next waves may be higher than the first ones. The impact on infrastructure, coastal areas and possible further damage will depend on whether the tsunami hits land full force or partially dissipates. Japan remains on high alert and the government is urging residents to strictly follow evacuation instructions.
gnews.cz - GH
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