Tsunami waves reached Hawaii after a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia’s eastern coast triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific, affecting countries from the US to Japan. Tsunami waves reached Hawaii, California and Washington after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded.
Hawaii was braced for the most severe impact, but the alert level there was downgraded to a tsunami advisory just before 5 a.m. ET, allowing residents to return to their homes. A video has gone viral on social media which shows severe flooding throughout Hilo Bay, Hawaii after the massive earthquake off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East.
Since the first wave of the tsunami arrived in Hawaii Tuesday, water had been ebbing and flowing steadily for hours at Haleiwa Boat Harbor on Oahu’s North Shore. Then at around 9:10 p.m., water rushed in, flooding the majority of the harbor’s parking lot, reports Hawaii News Now. The water level reached ankle height before receding after about five minutes and were also actively rising and falling below nearby Rainbow Bridge.
“High tide is projected to be at 3:30-4:00 am where we could see the higher surges arriving that may affect the lower lying areas. This event is expected to last through tomorrow but we will know more in the morning,” Crescent City City Hall said in a Facebook Post.
The entire US West Coast had been under a tsunami advisory for hours after the world’s largest earthquake in 14 years struck 8.2 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, at around 7:24 p.m. ET. The earthquake early on Wednesday is one of the strongest ever recorded, already leaving several people injured in Russia, according to authorities, and at least one person in Japan.
According to officials, tsunami waves as high as 6ft (1.8m) have been recorded near Hawaii, as they suggested even bigger waves could hit, warning “people can drown quite easily” in a force that “could take them out”. Evacuation orders have been issued for large parts of the US west coast, with authorities ordering people to "take action now" and get away from the sea.
The US National Weather Service said it had recorded waves in the Arena Cove and Monterey area in California in the early hours of the morning, local time. A portion of the California northern coast from the California-Oregon border to Cape Mendocino, which includes Crescent City, was placed under a tsunami warning.
Tsunami warning sirens sounded in Honolulu after Hawaii was upgraded from a tsunami watch to a tsunami warning. Governor Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation, activating response centres across California and urging residents to take the situation seriously.
A tsunami watch is issued when there is a potential for a tsunami to develop. That alert can be upgraded to an advisory if monitors find reason to believe the waves generated by a potential tsunami are likely to be dangerous. A tsunami warning is issued when widespread water inundation or significant coastal flooding is expected from a confirmed tsunami.
