A number of Japan’s warnings were also downgraded, but the country’s north-east coast remained under significant threat.
In Indonesia’s Papua province, coastal residents in several areas were advised to seek higher ground, the BBC reported, and people in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands were told to stay away from beaches until the threat had passed.
The US embassy in Papua New Guinea issued a tsunami threat alert for the country, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
This combination of images taken from a fixed position video shows, above, a beach in Shirahama in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture immediately after the earthquake and, below, after people evacuated following a tsunami warning. Credit: AP
In Kamchatka, three- to four-metre waves hit the shore, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia’s emergency ministry said.
“Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,” Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on Telegram.
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Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that a kindergarten was damaged, but most buildings withstood the quake. No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 kilometres, and was centred 119 kilometres east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier, and reported a series of strong aftershocks up to a magnitude of 6.9.
A Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky resident said the shaking started slowly but built up and rumbled for several minutes.
“Considering its strength and how long it lasted … I decided to leave the building,” said Yaroslav, 25.
“The building is very flimsy and light, which might be why it survived. But it felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes.”
Warnings across the Pacific
As tsunami alarms sounded in Japan’s eastern coastal towns, evacuation orders were issued for millions of people.
Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami triggered a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said.
Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed scores of people on the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering under tents from the beating sun, as fishing boats left harbours to avoid potential damage from the incoming waves.
People seek safety on the roof of a fire station in northern Japan.Credit: AP
Carmaker Nissan suspended operations at certain factories to ensure employee safety, Kyodo news agency reported.
Three tsunami waves had been recorded in Japan, the largest measuring 60 centimetres, officials said on Wednesday afternoon. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said there were no injuries or damage reported, and no irregularities at any nuclear plants.
The US Tsunami Warning System also warned of “hazardous tsunami waves” spreading across the Pacific, though most places where tsunami waves had already washed ashore reported no significant damage by late afternoon AEST.
“Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii,” US President Donald Trump said in a social media post.
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“Please visit tsunami.gov/ for the latest information. STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!”
‘Ring of fire’
Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Russian Academy of Sciences said the quake was the strongest to hit the region since 1952.
“However, due to certain characteristics of the epicentre, the shaking intensity was not as high … as one might expect from such a magnitude,” said Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service, on Telegram.
“Aftershocks are currently ongoing … Their intensity will remain fairly high. However, stronger tremors are not expected in the near future. The situation is under control.”
New Zealand’s disaster management agency warned that the country’s coastal areas could expect “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore”.
In a national advisory alert, Civil Defence New Zealand said there was no immediate need to evacuate, but said citizens should stay away from beaches and shore areas.
Reuters, AP, Bloomberg
