MOSCOW: A massive earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula sent tsunami waves in the paths of millions of people in countries across the Pacific on Wednesday (July 31).
From Japan, China and the Philippines to Hawaii, the US West Coast and Latin American countries like Mexico and Ecuador, warnings and evacuation orders were issued due to the threat of potentially life-threatening, metre-high waves.
Yet nearly a full day after the quake rocked Russia's Far East, there were no reports of major damage. In most regions, tsunami warnings were downgraded or, like in Russia, the US and Japan, lifted entirely.
The main quake, which hit at about 11:24 am local time on Wednesday (2324 GMT Tuesday), was recorded by the US Geological Survey (USGS) at magnitude 8.8 - the strongest globally since Japan's Fukushima disaster in March 2011, and one of the six most powerful earthquakes ever measured. Russian authorities reported a magnitude of 8.7.
According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, it was the strongest earthquake to hit Kamchatka since 1952. The epicentre was in the open sea, about 130 kilometres from the sparsely populated coastline.
Dozens of aftershocks were recorded, many above magnitude 5. The two strongest were measured at 6.9 and 6.3 by the USGS.
No major flood waves were recorded on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian Civil Defence Ministry said on Telegram. A beach was evacuated as a precaution, with around 60 people brought to safety.
Most buildings withstood the quake, though structural inspections are ongoing, it said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no casualties had been reported and that alert systems functioned as intended.
In the regional capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, frightened residents fled outside barefoot, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
According to civil protection officials, parts of the port of Severo-Kurilsk and a fisheries company were flooded.
On Japan's Pacific coast, a wave measuring 1.3 metres was recorded in a port in Iwate Prefecture, with up to 80-centimetre waves in other coastal regions, local media reported.f
Authorities had issued tsunami warnings for waves up to three metres high. Northern Japan lies geographically closest to the quake zone.
Later, the Japanese Meteorological Agency downgraded its regional alerts, although advisories were still in place.
More than two million people had been asked to evacuate earlier in the day.
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were evacuated due to the tsunami warning.
Tokyo Electric Power Company confirmed to the Japan Times that all staff reached higher ground safely.
The facility was the site of a major nuclear disaster in March 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami triggered multiple reactor meltdowns.
Initial tsunami waves as high as 1.5 metres reached Hawaii on Tuesday evening. The US downgraded its warning by early Wednesday and life on the archipelago had returned to normal.
However, warnings were still in place for unusual or strong water currents in some coastal areas of Hawaii. Swimmers and boaters should exercise caution, local authorities said.
According to US broadcaster CNN, the highest tidal wave in Hawaii reached 1.5 metres. The tsunami warning there ended just before 9am local time (1900 GMT) on Wednesday
Tsunami warnings were also lifted in the western US states of Alaska, Washington and Oregon.
Warnings had also been issued along the US West Coast, Alaska, Canada's British Columbia, and parts of Latin America.
In Asia, China lifted its alert for coastal Zhejiang and Shanghai, while Taiwan also called off its alert. The Philippines and Indonesia later withdrew warnings after only minor sea level changes were observed.
Hours after the earthquake rocked Kamchatka, the region's highest volcano began erupting.
Geophysicists from the Russian Academy of Sciences reported a strong glow visible at the summit of the 4,750-metre Klyuchevskoy volcano in the Russian Far East.
Lava was seen flowing down one flank of the mountain, and explosions were audible, the experts said.
Also known as Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the volcano is located roughly 400 kilometres north of the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
It is considered the highest active volcano in Eurasia and forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire - a seismically volatile zone encircling the Pacific Ocean. - dpa
