Tsunami Warnings Lifted After Massive Earthquake

Tsunami warnings issued across the Pacific region were lifted on Wednesday, allowing millions of people who had fled coastal areas to safely return home after a powerful earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

The 8.8 magnitude quake, one of the strongest recorded globally in over a century, triggered widespread alerts from Japan to the United States and as far as Ecuador, urging people to steer clear of the ocean. Some areas were warned to brace for waves reaching up to four metres (12 feet) high.

In the end, fears of widespread devastation proved unfounded. As the day progressed, warnings were either downgraded or cancelled entirely in many countries, prompting the return of evacuees.

Japan, which initially instructed nearly two million residents to seek higher ground, lifted the majority of its tsunami warnings. The Fukushima nuclear plant—damaged by a 2011 tsunami—was briefly evacuated as a precaution. A single fatality was reported, when a woman drove her car off a cliff during an evacuation in Japan, according to local media.

Chile carried out what officials described as potentially the largest evacuation in the nation’s history, with 1.4 million people moved to safety. Fortunately, waves recorded there reached only about 60 centimetres and caused no damage or casualties.

In the Galapagos Islands, fears of three-metre waves prompted school closures and tourist evacuations. But the Ecuadorian navy confirmed the threat had passed, with only a mild surge of just over a metre observed.

“Everything is back to normal now,” said Isabel Grijalva, a 38-year-old resident of Santa Cruz island. “Restaurants are open again, and tourists are returning.”

Peru shut down more than half of its Pacific ports, and flights to and from Hawaii’s island of Maui were cancelled, although no serious damage was reported.

The most notable damage occurred in Severo-Kurilsk, a port town in Russia where tsunami waves flooded the local fish processing plant and swept debris inland. Footage from Russian state media showed buildings submerged and waves reaching a World War II monument located 400 metres from the shore, according to the town’s mayor.

Despite the quake’s immense strength, injuries in Russia were reported as minor. Notably, the Klyuchevskoy volcano erupted shortly after the quake, with red-hot lava and volcanic explosions visible above the peak, according to Russian scientists.

Seismologists called the earthquake the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952. The U.S. Geological Survey stated it was among the ten most powerful quakes since 1900 and warned of a 59 percent chance of another significant aftershock—exceeding magnitude 7.0—within the coming week.