Tsunami warnings are in place following a major earthquake off Russia. It is understood to be one of the world’s strongest ever earthquakes, striking deep in the Pacific in the early hours of this morning.
The 8.8 magnitude earthquake has the potential to devastate communities on both sides of the pacific. In Japan, a tsunami measuring 40 centimetres (1.3 feet) was detected in Tokachi, on the southern coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost of the country’s main islands. A tsunami has also occurred this morning in the US, with California issuing a caution for residents to stay away from the coast.
“God willing, these waves will not hurt us,” Josh Green, the governor of Hawaii, said, adding: “But you have to assume, assume, they will be life-threatening.”
A tsunami, he pointed out, “will not just hit one beach, it will wrap around the islands.”
Russia, Japan, Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the US mainland could all be affected by a tsunami, after waves of more than 10 ft (3 metres) were recorded early this morning in Kamchatka, in eastern Russia. Japan has so far ordered 1.9 million citizens to evacuate.
After an earthquake occurs on the sea floor, water is displaced, reaching surface level as waves gather momentum, reaching deep water speeds of up to 500mph. A breaking effect on the base of the wave column can come about due to decreasing depth, pushing water to the surface. Waves of up to 30 ft high can then build up, before striking the shore at 30mph.
Residents and tourists in Honolulu, Hawaii’s most populous city, received text message alerts this morning as sirens blared to warn residents of the tsunami threat, with advice given to move to higher ground.
In Japan, workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the northeast of the country were evacuated, the site’s operators have confirmed. The site’s operators confirmed that “no abnormality” had been observed at the site. Elsewhere, in the Philippines, the country’s seismology agency advised people to stay away from beaches in coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean, with authorities warning that the region could expect tsunami waves.