A magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29, triggering tsunami alerts for the entire U.S. West Coast and portions of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The earthquake was recorded at 7:24 p.m. ET, about 78 miles east-southeast of of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said in its updated assessment. The agency said the quake was shallow, at a depth of about 11 miles.
Tsunami advisories are in place along Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands. The National Tsunami Warning Center advises that tsunami activity is possible at Shemya, Alaska beginning at 4:46 p.m., Alaskan Daylight Time, then at 5:46 p.m. at Adak and 7:06 p.m. at Saint Paul, about 760 miles west of Anchorage.
Residents in the islands were advised to move out of the water and away from beaches, harbors, marines and inlets. Tsunamis can generate strong waves and currents, with waves that may last up to 45 minutes as it encroaches and recedes, the warning center stated. Coasts facing all directions are threatened because the waves can wrap around islands and headlands and into Bays.
The warning center also issued a tsunami watch for the West Coast, including southern Alaska, British Columbia, Washington state, Oregon, and California.
