General

RUSSIA - One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early yesterday, causing tsunamis of up to four metres (12 feet) across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.

The magnitude 8.8 quake struck at 8:24am (1:24am SA time on Tuesday) off Petropavlovsk on Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula and was one of the 10 biggest recorded, according to the USGS.

Russian authorities said a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, while local media said one of between three and four metres high was recorded in the Elizovsky district of Kamchatka.

A video posted on Russian social media appeared to show buildings in the town submerged in seawater. Authorities said the population of around 2 000 people was evacuated.

Several people were injured in Russia by the quake, state media reported, but none of them seriously.

 “The walls were shaking,” an Elizovsky resident told State media Zvezda.

“It’s good that we packed a suitcase, there was one with water and clothes near the door. We quickly grabbed it and ran out. It was very scary,” she said.

Officials from countries with a Pacific coastline in North and South America, including the United States, Mexico and Ecuador, issued warnings to avoid affected beaches.

In Japan, people evacuated by car or on foot to higher ground, including in Hokkaido, where a first wave measuring 30 centimetres was observed.

There were no injuries or damage reported in Japan as of midday (5am SA time).

In Hawaii, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said residents and the thousands of visitors should get to safety on the upper floors of buildings or on higher ground.

“People should not, and I will say it one more time, should not, as we have seen in the past, stay around the shoreline or risk their lives just to see what a tsunami looks like,” Governor Josh Green said.

“It is not a regular wave. It will actually kill you if you get hit by a tsunami,” Green said.

Russian authorities said a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, while local media said one of between three and four metres high was recorded in the Elizovsky district of Kamchatka. (Pic: PUKmedia)