Concerns are growing throughout the Pacific basin as new tsunami warnings have been issued for coastal areas in China, Peru, and Ecuador in the wake of a powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake that occurred off the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. Around 119 kilometers (74 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a Russian city with a population of almost 180,000, the strong earthquake caused immediate tsunami warnings in Russia, Japan, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific Island countries.
Authorities quickly began evacuations in a number of locations close to the epicenter of the earthquake, especially around the Kamchatka Peninsula, where reports indicated tsunami waves as high as 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet). As a precaution, residents in coastal areas that were at risk were relocated to higher land. Officials in China anticipate that portions of the country’s eastern coastline would be affected by tsunami waves.
According to an advisory issued by the Ministry of National Resources, “The Tsunami Advisory Centre of the Ministry of National Resources has determined that the earthquake has triggered a tsunami, which is expected to cause damage to certain coastal areas of China based on the latest warning and analysis results.” According to projections, waves will be between 30 centimeters and one meter high.
