The tsunami waves triggered by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula have begun to lash the US coasts, with the waves having begun hitting Hawaii.
Waves of nearly six feet were recorded in Maui island of Hawaii, with the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency warning that follow-up waves over the next several hours could be larger. The Governor has also warned that the waves “will wrap around the islands.”
While evacuation orders are in place in Hawaii, waves up to a foot were observed in Guam, a US island territory in the Western Pacific.
Besides Hawaii, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and parts of California will also be likely be impacted by the tsunami. Authorities have deployed choppers over coastal parts of Los Angeles to alert boaters and beachgoers. “The imminent threat is for Alaska and areas near the quake,” Reid Wolcott, a meteorologist with the weather service in Seattle, told USA Today.
While tsunami waves could reach Kodiak, Alaska from 8:20 p.m. Alaskan Daylight Time, the effect could be visible at La Jolla, California by 1:15 a.m. local time.
A tsunami warning is in place for the coastal areas of Oregon and California. In California, the Stateline border to Northern California’s Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County, north of San Francisco, could be affected.
In Oregon, Port Orford, Charleston, and Brookings could be affected.
Moderate waves between 1–3 metres may also reach Chile, Costa Rica, and other Pacific islands, while smaller waves of up to 1 metre are expected in places like Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Taiwan.
As for countries, Russia has already reported waves exceeding three metres, and the most powerful was as big as five metres, in the Russian Pacific town of Severo-Kurilsk.
Slight impact could also be felt in Brunei, China, North Korea, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam.
Tsunami waves begin to hit the US coast. These states could be affected
