A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, sending tsunami waves as high as 5 metres (16 feet) crashing into coastal areas and prompting evacuation orders across the Pacific, including in Hawaii and Japan.
The shallow earthquake caused structural damage and injured several people in the remote Russian region. Japan, still haunted by memories of the devastating 2011 tsunami, issued widespread evacuation orders along its eastern coastline.
In the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, residents described the terrifying intensity of the tremors.
“I decided to leave the building,” said Yaroslav, 25. “It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes.”
The region’s health ministry released video footage showing doctors performing surgery as equipment and the floor shook beneath them.
Tsunami waves battered the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, flooding a fish processing plant and sweeping vessels from their moorings, according to Russian emergency officials. Verified drone footage showed the town’s entire shoreline submerged, with buildings and storage facilities surrounded by receding water.
Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov described the event as “the strongest in decades,” while Russian scientists confirmed it was the most powerful quake to hit the region since 1952.
In Hawaii, waves up to 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) were recorded before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center downgraded its alert, saying no major tsunami was expected.
Coastal residents had earlier been urged to seek higher ground or move to upper floors of buildings, and the U.S. Coast Guard ordered ships to leave harbours.
Flights resumed at Honolulu airport later in the day, though Maui’s main terminal remained closed with passengers sheltering inside.
Tsunami waves were also observed further east, with nearly half-metre surges recorded in California and smaller waves reaching Canada’s British Columbia.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake struck at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), located 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000.
Tsunami sirens rang out along Japan’s Pacific coast, triggering evacuation orders for tens of thousands of residents. At the Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown occurred in 2011 following a major quake, staff were temporarily evacuated as a precaution, plant operator TEPCO confirmed.
Public broadcaster NHK showed footage of crowds sheltering under tents on rooftops in Hokkaido, while fishing boats left harbours to avoid wave damage. In Mie prefecture, a 58-year-old woman died when her vehicle plunged off a cliff during an evacuation, Asahi TV reported.
Nissan Motor temporarily suspended operations at some Japanese factories to ensure employee safety, according to Kyodo News.
Japan recorded three tsunami waves, the largest reaching 1.3 metres (4.3 feet). Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said no major injuries or damage had been reported, and all nuclear facilities were operating normally.
NHK warned that tsunami waves between 1 and 3 metres (3 to 9 feet) can be fatal to anyone caught in their path. Authorities across the Pacific continued to monitor conditions closely.
