A potentially devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula early Wednesday. This enormous event sent shockwaves across the Pacific region, triggering tsunami warnings everywhere the tsunami traveled. Today’s unprecedented seismic event has sent shockwaves throughout the world and particularly in several US cities, resulting in warnings and evacuations.
The earthquake, occurring in the early hours, triggered immediate tsunami warnings in Japan and various states in the western United States, including Hawaii, Alaska, and California. In Japan, national officials raised warnings along most of the east coast, while more localized advisories lowered through the rest of the country.
In the months after the quake, Japan measured extreme changes in wave levels. They varied from 30 centimeters to a stunning 1.3 meters, the latter being the highest wave recorded at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture. Kiyomoto Masashi, chief official at the agency’s meteorology division, warned residents across coastal regions to evacuate. He urged them to find higher ground if they wanted to survive.
“We are monitoring a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands and portions of the state of Alaska and assessing our flight operations. We are holding flight departures to the Islands on Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines,” – Hawaiian and Alaskan Airlines
The peninsula of Kamchatka itself saw significant wave action, with one report suggesting causing tsunami waves averaging up to 3 to 4 meters. In reaction to those warnings, authorities in Hawaii already began issuing evacuation orders. In the first evaluations it seemed that no large wave action occurred outside of the “Big Island.”
In response to these concerns, Hawaiian Governor Josh Green calmed public fears by insisting that no significant wave activity had been seen. He cautioned that the state would not be deemed “all clear” until two to three hours after ongoing evaluations.
In Hawaii, residents and visitors experienced some of the worst traffic gridlock across the state. Many found it difficult to evacuate from neighborhoods surrounding Ala Wai Harbor and world-famous Waikiki on Oahu. The depth of devastation Maui residents continue to fight through was echoed by the urgency in the temporary suspension of all flights in and out of Maui. According to news reports, two tsunami waves were recorded at Midway Atoll, one reaching 30 cm and the other 3 ft.
Many other flights en route to Hawaii were either turned back to the U.S. mainland or diverted as a result of the tsunami warnings. Per local media, multiple blazes have been disrupting flight operations. In response to the emergency, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines have both released statements on their social media.