Japan Lifts Tsunami Advisory After Massive Russia Quake Sends Ripples Across Pacific

Japan’s weather agency has lifted its tsunami advisory, marking an end to widespread emergency alerts across the Pacific triggered by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on Thursday afternoon (07:45 GMT) that “there is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force,” allowing nearly two million evacuees to return home. Earlier, waves up to 0.7 metres had been observed along Japan’s Pacific coast, far smaller than the 4-metre surges initially feared.

The quake, a magnitude 8.8 tremor that struck Russia’s Far East on Wednesday, sparked tsunami warnings and mass evacuations from Hawaii to Chile. The only confirmed fatality came from Japan, where a woman died after her car plunged off a cliff while fleeing to higher ground. Eleven others were hospitalised with heatstroke as temperatures soared to 40°C (104°F) during evacuations.

Japan’s NHK reported that the highest wave recorded locally reached 1.3 metres in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture.

In Chile, disaster response agency Senapred downgraded its warning from “alert” to “state of precaution” early Thursday, calling the country’s operation “perhaps the most massive evacuation ever carried out,” with 1.4 million people moved to safety. No damage or casualties were reported, and only small waves of around 60 centimetres reached the northern coast.

Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, bracing for swells of up to three metres, reported sudden changes in sea level but recorded surges of just over a metre, causing no harm.

In the United States, the National Weather Service initially issued tsunami warnings for Hawaii, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, and parts of California, with advisories stretching up to Washington and Oregon. These were later downgraded, allowing evacuated residents to return home.

The worst effects were felt in Russia’s Severo-Kurilsk, where a tsunami tore through the port area, flooding a fishing plant and sweeping debris hundreds of metres inland to a World War II monument. Local scientists also reported an eruption from the nearby Klyuchevskoy volcano shortly after the quake.

The regional seismic service said Wednesday’s earthquake was the strongest to hit Kamchatka since 1952, warning of potential aftershocks reaching magnitudes of up to 7.5. The US Geological Survey noted that it was among the 10 most powerful quakes recorded globally since 1900.

Source: Al Jazeera