A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 occurred in Kamchatka, the strongest in 70 years. It caused a tsunami that reached the coasts of Kamchatka, Japan, and Hawaii, and is also expected on the west coast of the USA. A tsunami threat has been declared throughout the Pacific region.
A tsunami with a wave height of 3-4 meters was recorded in the Yelizovsky district of Kamchatka. Four waves hit Severo-Kurilsk, flooding the coast up to 200 meters from the sea line. The port and fish processing plant in the city of Severo-Kurilsk were partially flooded, reported regional authorities and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.
In a video released by the regional health ministry, a team of doctors in the oncology dispensary of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is seen performing an operation while the tremors shake the equipment and floor beneath them. “Despite the danger, the doctors remained calm and stayed with the patient until the end,” said Kamchatka Territory Health Minister Oleg Melnikov, noting that the patient's condition is currently stable. The doctors will be presented with state awards, added the regional minister.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a kindergarten was damaged, but most buildings withstood the earthquake. No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported.
Several people in Kamchatka sought medical help after the earthquake, Oleg Melnikov told TASS. Local social media reports from residents indicate that cracks appeared on the walls of some houses in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
“We were very lucky that due to some peculiarities of the focal process, the intensity [of the earthquake in the region] was generally modest. About 6 points. And there are no mass casualties or destruction,” said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, to journalists.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of a tsunami with waves up to 3 meters high on the eastern coast, announcing an evacuation for 1.9 million people. The tsunami has already reached Hawaii, with a wave height of 1.7 meters.
This is the strongest earthquake in Russia since 1952, when an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 occurred in approximately the same area. The last stronger earthquake occurred in Japan in 2011 with a magnitude of 9.2. It caused a powerful tsunami and a disaster at the Japanese nuclear power plant “Fukushima.”
Photo: Reuters