An earthquake of magnitude 8.8, the most powerful in the region in almost 73 years, struck Tuesday off the Russian Kamchatka peninsula, causing Tsunamis alerts throughout the Pacific and Hawaii evacuations to Japan. British Columbia recommends its citizens to avoid the coasts.
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If several people were injured in the Russian Far East, according to local media, none of the countries concerned had reported a few before 5am.
A Tsunami opinion is also in force in British Columbia, an alert level which warns high currents and high waves.
“Avoid the coast and do not go to the ocean to observe the waves,” read the Emergencyinfobc website.
Tsunami’s opinion is the second highest level of alert with regard to tsunamis behind the Tsunami alert, which, when it is in force, warns of a huge wave and recommends evacuating.
According to the American Geophysical Institute (USGS), the earthquake occurred around 7:24 p.m. on Tuesday 20.7 km deep, 126 km off Petropavlovsk-Kamthatsky, capital of this Russian Far East region.
In the port of Severo-Kourilsk, in the north of the Russian archipelago of Kouriles, several successive tsunamis submerged the streets, according to the ministry of emergency situations.
One of these waves, in Elizovsky in the Kamchatka district, reached between three and four meters, according to a local media. The mayor of the district, Alexandre Ovsiannikov, said that “everyone” had been evacuated. The state of emergency has been decreed in the district.
“The fourth wave of tsunami is breaking. The wave is very large, everything is flooded, the whole coast is flooded, “testified a resident in a video published by the Russian media Izvestia. “The water has retired once again, and it will come back now. The port and factories on the coast are completely destroyed. ”
According to the mayor of the city quoted by the Russian state agency Tass, one of the tsunamis resulted in the open -edge ships after tearing off their anchors.
“We have all run in underwear with the children. Fortunately we had prepared a suitcase, “Zvezda’s public channel told Kamthatka resident, one of the most active seismic areas on the planet, at the meeting point between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates.
“Scary”
“This is the first time that I have experienced such a powerful earthquake since I have been an adult,” she continued. “I melted into tears. It was very frightening. “
The magnitude of 8.8 is the strongest recorded in Kamthatka since November 5, 1952, when an earthquake of magnitude 9 had triggered devastating tsunamis throughout the Pacific Ocean.
The seismological service of Kamchatka warned that replicas up to 7.5 were expected.
“Exhaust immediately!”
In Japan, live images on television showed people evacuating by car or on foot to higher areas, especially in the northern island of Hokkaido.
A tsunami of 1.30 mA reaches a port in the department of Miyagi, in northern Japan, at 1:52 p.m. local time (1h52 Eastern time), said the Japanese meteorological agency (JMA).
Near the Inage Beach, in the Chiba region, close to Tokyo, a security perimeter has been set up, and a rescuer told AFP journalists present on site that the coastal area was prohibited from access to further order.
“I did not expect there to be a tsunami. I made a joke about it … When we heard the alert, “said Leana Lussier, a 17-year-old Quebec tourist.
“We had come here to swim, but as soon as we heard that a tsunami alert had been made, we did not go to the water at all,” added Tomoyo Fujita, 35, a local resident, leaving the scene with her little daughter.
The employees of the Fukushima nuclear power plant (North), destroyed by a powerful earthquake and a tsunami in March 2011, were evacuated, said its operator.
“Tsunamis will hit repeatedly. Do not venture into the sea and do not approach the coast as long as the alert is not lifted, “warned the JMA, which has planned waves of three meters.
China has also made a tsunami alert for several areas of its coast. The Philippines also urged the inhabitants of the East Coast to move towards the interior of the land, and advised fishermen already at sea to stay off deep waters.
“He will kill you”
Same message in the American Hawaii archipelago, threatened by waves of three meters or more. “People should not stay close to the coast or risk their lives just to see what a tsunami looks like,” said state governor Josh Green.
“It is not an ordinary wave. If you are struck by a tsunami, he will kill you, “he warned.
On the other bank of the Pacific, Peru and Mexico also declared the alert to the tsunami, as well as Colombia and the equator which ordered evacuations, as in the ports of the Galapagos archipelago. Tsunamis of 1 to 3 meters are also possible in Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia and other archipelagos.
The United States has issued a series of alerts of different levels along the North American West Coast of Alaska to the entire Californian coast. Tsunami alerts have been broadcast on mobile phones in California, according to AFP journalists.
