Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami alert for Japan’s Pacific coast, upgrading an earlier advisory stemming from the powerful, magnitude 8.0 quake that hit on Wednesday morning, July 30, near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The agency issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to 3 meters across the Pacific coast of Japan, possibly starting to arrive along the northern Japanese coasts in less than half an hour after the alert.
A tsunami warning also was extended to the US state of Hawaii, with the National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center saying a tsunami from the quake had been generated that could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands. “Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,” the warning stated. The first waves were expected around 7 pm local time.
Japan’s meteorological agency said the quake occurred at 8:25 am and registered a preliminary magnitude of 8.0. The quake was about 250 kilometers away from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost of the country’s four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan’s NHK television.
The US Geological Survey said it hit at a depth of 19.3 kilometers. The USGC said shortly after initial reports that the quake’s strength was 8.7 magnitude.
Tsunami warning for portions of the US West Coast
Russia’s Tass news agency reported from the biggest city nearby, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, that many people ran out into the street without shoes or outerwear. Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildings shook noticeably. Tass also reported power outages and mobile phone service failures in the capital of the Kamchatka region.
The National Tsunami Warning Center, based in Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and a watch for portions of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. The advisory also includes a vast swath of Alaska’s coastline, including parts of the panhandle.
