The shallow earthquake in the remote Russian region damaged buildings and injured several people, while the majority of Japan’s eastern seaboard, which was devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011, was advised to evacuate.
To date, how much damage have the earthquake and tsunami caused?
A resident of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky reported that the shaking persisted for several minutes.
Yaroslav, 25, stated, “I made the decision to exit the building.” It seemed as though the walls might come down at any time. For at least three minutes, there was constant shaking.
The region’s health ministry released video footage showing a group of medical professionals performing surgery in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky as the tremors rocked their instruments and the floor beneath them.
According to regional officials and Russia’s emergency ministry, tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka, washing boats off their moorings and partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk.
Verified drone footage showed that the entire town’s shoreline was under water, and water could be seen rushing back into the sea around taller buildings and some storage facilities.
In a video posted on the Telegram app, Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said, “Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors.” Russian geologists say it was the most powerful to hit the region since 1952.
How bad could the damage be?
Waves as high as 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) hit the Hawaiian islands before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lowered its warning level for the state at around 0850 GMT, indicating that no major tsunami was expected.
In the past, the U.S. Coast Guard advised residents along the coast to evacuate to high ground or buildings that were at least four stories high, and it ordered ships out of harbors.
The transportation agency reports that although flights from Honolulu airport were able to resume later, travelers sought shelter in the terminal as Maui’s main airport remained closed.
Some half-meter tsunami waves were recorded as far as California; smaller ones even reached British Columbia, Canada.
WARNINGS ACROSS THE PACIFIC
The earthquake occurred 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast of the 165,000-person city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and was shallow, measuring 19.3 kilometers (12 miles) in depth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate as tsunami warnings went off in coastal communities along Japan’s Pacific coast.
Workers departed the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a toxic disaster, according to operator TEPCO.
On the northern island of Hokkaido, footage from public broadcaster NHK showed dozens of people on the roof of a building, seeking shade from the sun under tents as fishing boats left harbors to avoid any damage from approaching waves.
According to broadcaster Asahi TV, a 58-year-old woman was evacuating in the Mie prefecture of central Japan when her car crashed off a cliff.
The carmaker Nissan Motor (7201.T) has suspended operations at a few Japanese factories to ensure worker safety, according to the Kyodo news agency.
Three tsunami waves have been recorded in Japan, with the largest measuring 1.3 meters (4.3 feet), according to officials.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said no abnormalities were found in any nuclear reactors and that no damage or casualties had been found.
People may not survive if they are carried away by tsunami waves that are one to three meters (3 to 9 feet), according to NHK.
Japan, Hawaii, Chile, and the Solomon Islands could experience waves of one to three meters, while Ecuador, the northern Hawaiian islands, and some areas of Russia could experience waves of more than three meters, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System.
‘RING OF FIRE’
Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services posted on Telegram that although the majority of buildings were unharmed by the earthquake, a kindergarten was damaged. No significant injuries or fatalities have been reported.
According to Russia’s TASS state news agency, regional health minister Oleg Melnikov stated that several Kamchatka residents sought medical care after the earthquake.
In Severo-Kurilsk, in the northern Kuril islands, south of Kamchatka, tsunami waves topped three meters, with the highest reaching five meters, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.
Alexander Ovsyannikov, the town’s mayor, told residents to assess the damage to their homes and hold off on using gas cooker heating until inspections were finished.
The Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that regularly sees earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, is where Kamchatka and the Far East of Russia are situated.
On Telegram, Danila Chebrov, director of the Geophysical Service’s Kamchatka Branch, stated, “But because of some features of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high … as one might expect from such a magnitude.”
“There are still aftershocks going on. They will continue to be fairly intense. Stronger tremors are not anticipated anytime soon, though. Everything is under control.
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