A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula has triggered tsunami warnings in Japan and several states in the western United States, including Hawaii, Alaska and California.
The earthquake, which struck early Wednesday, triggered evacuation orders in Hawaii and Japan. The U.S. Coast Guard also ordered commercial vessels in harbors in Hawaii to evacuate.
So far, Hawaii has “not seen a wave of consequence, which is a great relief to us,” Hawaiian Governor Josh Green told reporters during a press conference. He said Hawaii registered two waves through the Midway Atoll, one measuring 30 centimeters and the other 3 feet, he said.
Green added that there was no major wave activity that was noticed past the “Big Island,” and that the state wouldn’t be “all clear” until two to three hours later. The conference was held at 8:20 p.m. local time.
Japan issued tsunami warnings for much of its eastern coastline, and lower level “advisories” in other parts of the country, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
