Tsunami warnings have been issued after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early on Wednesday.
Japan and Alaska have already seen small tsunami waves while North and Central America and Pacific islands towards New Zealand have all been put under tsunami watch.
The Ishinomaki port in northern Japan saw a 1.6ft tsunami wave, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The East Asian nation issued evacuation orders for its eastern and northern seaboards soon after the 8.8-magnitude struck 119km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
The tsunami warnings prompted people to evacuate to safer places and shelters, emptying out coastal streets and beaches in many countries around the Pacific.
“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.
Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, reported that Kamchatka had seen a tsunami 10-13ft high and urged people to move away from the shoreline.
Japan’s weather agency said it expected tsunami waves of up to 10ft and asked people in coastal towns to leave for higher ground.
Honolulu’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that “urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property”.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management asked people to move away from beaches, harbours and marinas, and shelter in locations away from the coast. It warned that waves 1-2 feet high were expected to hit the American state’s coast.
