Alarms are sounding in Russia, the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Peru, Mexico, and China, among others.
Nearly two million people are evacuated in Japan, while Moscow declares a state of emergency in the Kuril Islands.
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale was recorded Wednesday off the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the far east of Russia, triggering tsunami warnings across much of the Pacific, especially in Japan, where two million people have already been evacuated.
The earthquake, initially classified as a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, struck around 8:25 a.m. (Russian time) and prompted the government to declare a state of emergency in the northern Kuril Islands. “A tsunami threat has been declared, and the strength of the waves is still being determined,” explained Vladimir Solodov, governor of Kamchatka.
“I urge everyone to stay away from the coast and to follow the announcements over the PA system,” he warned in a message, urging the public to “remain calm so that panic does not spread.”
Russian authorities also issued a tsunami warning for Avacha Bay, in the southeast of the peninsula, and reported the destruction of the facade of a kindergarten, although no children were inside. “The workers managed to escape the building in time,” they stated.
Later, Kamchatka’s health official, Oleg Melnikov, said that several people were injured as a result of the earthquake, none of them seriously, although he did not specify the exact number of those affected.
A little further south, in the Kuril Islands, which Russia disputes with Japan, Governor Valeri Igorevich Limarenko reported that the earthquake had affected Severo-Kurilsk, an island very close to Kamchatka and part of the Kuril archipelago.
“A tsunami warning has been issued and residents of the potentially dangerous area are being evacuated to higher ground,” he announced hours before emergency services evacuated 2,700 people, including 600 children, to safe areas on these islands.
“According to preliminary data, there is no serious damage or casualties,” he assured, also indicating that “emergency services are working in reinforced mode and the situation is under control.”
Shortly after, the Kamchatka Tsunami Monitoring Center informed the Russian Emergencies Ministry that a wave had caused flooding in the port city of Severo-Kurilsk, according to the ministry’s news channel. Telegram.
ALERTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION
The Japanese government has ordered the evacuation of two million people living in coastal areas to prevent deaths and injuries following the arrival of waves. This primarily affects areas of Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Fukushima, Chiba, Ibaraki, and Wakayama, among others, where waves are expected to reach three meters in height.
Authorities in Canada have also reported the earthquake and issued tsunami warnings, as have those in the United States, which has placed residents of Hawaii and several areas of Alaska, as well as the island of Guam, on alert. Meanwhile, all states on the US West Coast remain on alert for the possible arrival of waves on their coastline.
For his part, Hawaii Governor Josh Green has informed the public that authorities will activate sirens in the hours before the tsunami is expected to hit. Likewise, The Indonesian government has warned citizens not to “risk being near the coastline when the wave approaches.”
Likewise, Indonesian authorities have declared a tsunami alert but have stated that they have begun evacuating the population of North Sulawesi province as a “precautionary measure.”
The head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Adolf Tamengkel, has clarified that the island “is prepared” and expressed that he “is confident of avoiding any casualties or injuries.”
In addition, several Latin American countries have issued widespread alerts. Chilean President Gabriel Boric has indicated via social media that the most affected regions will be Atacama, Coquimbo, and ValparaÃso.
Authorities in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru have issued similar warnings, and Mexico has asked the population to avoid coastal areas for the time being. To this end, it has mobilized troops to potential impact sites.
For their part, Chinese authorities have emphasized that a tsunami is expected to affect several areas in the east of the country, although it is expected to be less than a meter high.
