Tsunami hits Russia’s Far East after powerful earthquake, several injured

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet), damaging buildings and prompting warnings and evacuations that stretched across the Pacific Ocean.

Several people were injured in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard - devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 - was ordered to evacuate.

“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. A tsunami with a height of 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, said Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, urging people to move away from the shoreline.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier, and reported a strong aftershock of magnitude 6.9 soon after.

The Japan Weather Agency upgraded its warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT. Public broadcaster NHK said evacuation orders had been issued by the government for some areas.

“Please evacuate quickly. If you can, move quickly to higher ground and away from the coast,” a NHK newscaster said.

Factory workers and residents in Japan’s northern Hokkaido evacuated to a hill overlooking the ocean, footage from broadcaster TBS showed.

WARNINGS ACROSS THE PACIFIC

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of “hazardous tsunami waves” within the next three hours.

Waves reaching more than 3 metres were possible along some coasts of Russia and Ecuador, while waves of 1-3 metres were possible in Japan, Hawaii, Chile and the Solomon Islands, it said. Smaller waves were possible along coastlines across much of the Pacific, including the U.S. West Coast.

Hawaii ordered evacuations from some coastal areas. “Take Action! Destructive tsunami waves expected,” the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said on X.

The Hawaii warning urged residents of low-lying areas to either move to higher ground or to the fourth floor of a building.

Several people sought medical assistance following the quake, Oleg Melnikov, regional health minister, told Russia’s TASS state news agency.

“Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” Melnikov said.

“All patients are currently in satisfactory condition, and no serious injuries have been reported so far.”

The Russian Academy of Sciences said it was the strongest quake to hit the region since 1952.

Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations said on Telegram that the port in the Sakhalin town of Severo-Kurilsk and a fish processing plant there were partially flooded by a tsunami. The population has been evacuated.

“However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high ... as one might expect from such a magnitude,” said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service, on Telegram.

“Aftershocks are currently ongoing ... Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.”

Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.