A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 occurred on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, which caused a tsunami with waves up to 4 meters high. As a result, an evacuation was announced, and damage to buildings was recorded. About this informs Reuters.
The first wave of the tsunami was recorded in the coastal zone of the Kuril region, as reported by the governor of the Sakhalin region Valery Limarenko. Minister of Emergencies of the Russian Federation Serhiy Lebedev clarified that in some areas of Kamchatka waves reached 3-4 meters.
The US Geological Survey reported that the tremors occurred on the night of July 30, approximately 126 kilometers southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, at a depth of 18.2 kilometers, which increased the earthquake’s power compared to the initial estimate of 8 points.
“The strongest earthquake in the Kamchatka seismic focal zone since 1952 has just occurred”, – said Kamchatka Governor Volodymyr Solodov.
He said that according to preliminary data, there were no victims, but the building of the kindergarten was damaged.
In response to the event, the US authorities announced a warning about a possible tsunami in Alaska and Hawaii, where three-meter waves were already recorded. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, there is also a potential threat to the island of Guam, as reported by the BBC.
The Honolulu Department of Emergency Situations called for the evacuation of some coastal areas, noting that destructive tsunami waves are expected. The Japan Meteorological Agency also reported possible waves of up to 3 meters high that could reach large coastal areas. The Japanese government issued an order to evacuate residents of the Pacific coast.
