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Tsunami warnings in Hawaii, parts of California and Japan downgraded
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Tsunami warnings remain in place across parts of South America after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Russian far east in the early hours.
Fears of a devastating tsunami in the US and Japan faded over Wednesday after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s sparsely populated Kamchatka peninsula.
But as the region breathed a sigh of relief – with authorities in Hawaii and parts of Japan, Russia and California downgrading their warnings – new evacuation warnings were issued along South America’s Pacific coast.
Colombia, Chile and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands all saw restrictions and evacuations issued, including beach and school closures. “Remember that the first wave is usually not the strongest,” Chilean president Gabriel Boric warned on social media.
Several people were injured during the earthquake, but none seriously and no major damage was reported.
Hours later, lava was seen coming from the Klyuchevskoy volcano on the peninsula as it began to erupt.
On Kamchatka, near the quake’s epicentre, residents fled inland as ports flooded, while cars jammed streets in Honolulu.
Tsunamis are triggered by underwater earthquakes, which cause the seafloor to rise and drop, pushing huge volumes of sea water into waves.
A tsunami of 2 feet (60 centimeters) was recorded in Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves, and at least one person was injured.
In Iwaki, a city in Fukushima prefecture, which was the epicenter of the 2011 tsunami and quake, dozens of residents gathered at a hilltop park after a community siren sounded and breakwater gates were closed.
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, severely damaged in 2011, took shelter on higher ground while remotely monitoring operations, the operator said.
Hours later, Japan downgraded its tsunami alert but left an advisory in place along the Pacific coast.
Chile, a place highly vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis, raised its warning to the highest level early Wednesday for most of its lengthy Pacific coast and began evacuating hundreds of people.
“Remember that the first wave is usually not the strongest,” Chilean president Gabriel Boric warned on social media.
Colombian officials ordered the complete closure and evacuation of beaches and low-tide areas while maritime traffic was being restricted. Ecuador canceled classes at schools in the Galapagos Islands as well as communities along the coast.
Local authorities lifted the tsunami alert in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia on Wednesday and said people could return to their homes, but said residents should remain cautious.
The High Commission of the Republic in French Polynesia said wave heights had reached 1.50 metres, down from a previous forecast of up to 4 metres.
Additional smaller waves were expected in the coming hours, officials said.
A tsunami advisory for the stateof Hawaii has now ended, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement.
It comes hours after officials in Hawaii said residents who had evacuated could return to their homes.
The earthquake off the coast of Russia appeared to be the strongest recorded since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Japan in 2011 caused a massive tsunami and meltdowns at a nuclear power plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said initial reports showed Japan’s nuclear plants were not affected this time.
Wednesday’s quake occurred along the “Ring of Fire,” a series of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean.
It was centred offshore, about 120km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka’s regional capital.
Chile has upgraded its tsunami warning to its highest level.
The red alert covers most of its 6,400km (4,000-mile) Pacific coastline, from Arica and Parinacota near its northern border to Magallanes in the far south.
The education ministry cancelled classes along much of the coast.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the threat of a major tsunami hitting the United States had passed completely.
Ms Noem said: “We’re in really good shape right now. We were fully deployed and ready to respond if necessary, but grateful that we didn’t have to deal with the situation that this could have been.”
The Independent’s Bryony Gooch reports:
Professor Ilan Kelman from UCL’s department of Risk and Disaster Reduction has said the tsunamis across the Pacific Ocean mean we should have a greater awareness in the UK for these types of disasters.
“Tsunamis have happened around the UK in the past and we travel,” he says. “Tragically in the 2004 [Boxing Day] tsunami, 149 people affiliated with the UK died.
“Be aware that anywhere near water, tsunamis can happen. Tsunamis are relevant to the UK. Tsunamis are relevant to the British. We have coastlines and we travel. So please ensure that when you travel, and anyone living near the shore knows what to do when a tsunami may strike their location.”
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