Moscow: An 8.8-magnitude earthquake has caused devastation in the Kamchatka region of Russia, aftershocks are continuing, and tsunami waves have hit the eastern coastal areas of Russia.
According to foreign media, the epicenter of the earthquake in the eastern region of Russia was only 20 kilometers and the depth was 150 kilometers.
There are reports of some people being injured at the airport in Kamchatka, several houses in the Severo-Kurilsk region were swept away by the tsunami, and 2,700 people were evacuated to a safe place.
According to the Russian minister, tsunami waves of 3 to 4 meters high were recorded in different parts of Kamchatka after the earthquake.
There are also reports of a few people being injured in the earthquake, while an advisory has been issued in the Pacific Ocean in view of possible tsunami waves.
A total of eight earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 occurred off the coast of Kamchatka in one hour, the tremors occurred at a depth of 7 to 100 kilometers, experts have predicted aftershocks of magnitude 7.5 for at least a month.
In addition, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines have also issued emergency warnings, the United States has also issued a tsunami warning in California, Oregon and Washington, in addition to this, a tsunami warning has been issued for British Columbia, Hawaii, Alaska, and all commercial ships and ports in Hawaii have been ordered to evacuate.
According to the US Geological Survey, an evacuation warning has been issued for 2 million people in Japan due to a tsunami, and advisories have been issued for 220 cities and towns.
Authorities in Hawaii began evacuation preparations, long lines of people formed at gas stations, railway services were suspended in eastern Japan, the Fukushima nuclear power plant was evacuated as a precaution, and people in the Philippines were also instructed not to go to the beach.
It should be noted that on July 20, earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 and 6.7 also occurred in Russia, for which no tsunami alert was issued, but later a 7.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 08:49 GMT, after which the USGS warned that ‘dangerous tsunami waves are predicted for some coastal areas’.
The agency had said that waves of 30 centimeters to one meter (about 3.3 feet) were expected on Russian coasts, while waves of less than 30 centimeters (one foot) were expected in Japan and the US state of Hawaii.
The USGS said the epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Pacific Ocean about 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
