One of the most powerful earthquakes in history has struck Russia's Far East. The 8.8-magnitude tremors triggered tsunamis in Japan and Alaska and prompted warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America, and the Pacific islands south of New Zealand.
Ports on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula near the quake's epicentre were flooded as residents sought refuge inland, and powerful waves battered shores in northern Japan.
Cars filled the streets and main roads of Honolulu, and traffic was stopped even in areas far from the coast.
People were advised to climb to high ground in most parts of the Pacific Ocean and warned that the potential threat could last more than a day.
In most places where the tsunami has already reached the shore, no significant damage has yet been reported.
In Kamchatka, the tsunami was 10 to 13 feet high, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido it was 2 feet, and in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, waves up to 1.4 feet above high tide were observed.
The effects of a tsunami could last for hours or even more than a day, said Dave Snyder, tsunami warning coordinator for the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska.
“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he noted.
“They are a series of powerful waves that build over a long period of time. Tsunamis move through the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour – the speed of a jet – in deep water.
“But as they get closer to shore, they slow down and start to pile up. That's when the potential for flooding increases.”
“In this case, because the Earth is actually sending huge waves of water across the ocean, they will continue to move back and forth for quite a long time,” so some communities may feel the effects longer, he added.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, located between Japan and Hawaii, showed waves peaking to trough at 6 feet.
He noted that the waves hitting Hawaii could be larger or smaller, and it is too early to say how big they will be. He said a tsunami of that size would be comparable to a three-foot wave skimming the surf.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
