A big earthquake hit off the coast of Russia on Tuesday, July 29. It measured 8.8 in magnitude, and after that, tsunami alerts have been going out across several places.
Warnings are issued for the entire U.S. West Coast, parts of Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, and even Guam. It’s not just local, this thing got global fast.
RELATED STORIES
A powerful earthquake triggered the alerts
The quake happened around 7:24 p.m. Eastern Time. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it struck about 78 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
And it wasn’t deep either, only around 11 miles down, which can make things worse.
Some reports said it could be one of the six strongest earthquakes ever recorded.
Several strong aftershocks followed the initial quake
After the main quake, the shaking didn’t stop. The USGS reported at least six more earthquakes near Kamchatka just that day.
Their magnitudes were 6.9, 6.3, 5.4, 5.7, and 5.6. The ground just kept moving.
Japan sees early waves and evacuations begin
Waves already started showing up in Japan. Local news said the first ones reached Hokkaido in the north. They were about 30 cm high, around 11 inches.
Even though that might not sound like much, they were strong enough to push structures off their bases.
People in Kamaishi and Ishinomaki ran to the same higher spots where they escaped during the 2011 tsunami.
Hawaii’s Honolulu issues urgent evacuation orders
Over in Hawaii, people were told to act fast. O’ahu Emergency Management sent out a clear message:
“Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected. Go to http://hnlalert.gov for wave arrival time. EVACUATE coastal areas in PRIMARY EVACUATION ZONE.”
That covered the areas around Honolulu. The warning was serious.
Coastal Alaska prepares for potential wave activity
The National Tsunami Warning Center said waves could hit places in Alaska too. Shemya might see activity first at around 4:46 p.m. Alaska time. Then Adak by 5:46, and Saint Paul about 7:06.
That’s all pretty far west of Anchorage, but still in range.
Warnings extend to the entire U.S. West Coast and beyond
Tsunami alerts weren’t just for Alaska or Hawaii. The whole U.S. West Coast was under watch, including California and Oregon.
British Columbia in Canada also got a warning. So did parts of Japan and Guam. It was a pretty wide alert zone.
Ecuador and parts of Russia may face severe wave impact
Ecuador and Russia’s eastern coast were expected to get hit hard.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said waves there could go over 10 feet. That’s more than enough to cause serious trouble.
Guam and New Zealand are also on high alert
Guam wasn’t left out either, it got a tsunami warning along with the others.
And even New Zealand was put on alert. Their national emergency agency, NEMA, put out this warning:
“Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.
“People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.”
Most of New Zealand’s coast was under threat, though they didn’t call for evacuations unless local officials said otherwise.
