Tsunami evacuations ordered in South America, but worst risk appears to pass for US after huge quake

HONOLULU AP Fears of a devastating tsunami faded Wednesday for the U S and Japan after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off a sparsely populated Russian peninsula but new alerts along South America s Pacific coast forced evacuations and closed beaches Warnings in the first hours after the magnitude quake sent residents fleeing to rooftops in Japan and forced tourists out of beachfront hotels in Hawaii snarling island traffic In Russia several people were hurt rushing to get out of buildings including a hospital client who jumped from a window Millions of people were stated to move away from the shore or seek high ground because they were potentially in the path of the tsunami waves which struck seaside areas of Japan Hawaii and the U S West Coast but did not appear to cause any major damage The dire warnings following the massive quake early Wednesday off Russia s Kamchatka peninsula evoked memories of catastrophic damage caused by tsunamis over the last quarter-century In Japan people flocked to evacuation centers hilltop parks and rooftops in towns on the Pacific coast with fresh memories of the earthquake and tsunami that caused a nuclear mishap Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu with traffic at a standstill even far from the sea We ve got water we got chosen snacks we re going to stay elevated declared Jimmy Markowski whose family from Hot Springs Arkansas fled their Waikiki beach resort before evacuation orders were lifted This is our first tsunami warning ever So this is all new to us Although tsunami advisories remain in place along much of the U S West Coast and bureaucrats warned sightseers to stay away from beaches U S Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem stated the worst was over We were fully deployed and ready to respond if necessary but grateful that we didn t have to deal with the situation that this could have been she informed reporters in Chile where she is meeting authorities Among the world s strongest recorded quakes The earthquake appeared to be the strongest recorded since the magnitude earthquake off Japan in caused a massive tsunami and meltdowns at a nuclear power plant The International Atomic Potency Agency mentioned initial reports indicated Japan s nuclear plants were not affected this time Wednesday s quake occurred along the Ring of Fire a series of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where the greater part of the world s earthquakes take place It was centered offshore about kilometers miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kamchatka s regional capital Multiple aftershocks as strong as magnitude followed Russia s Oceanology Institute disclosed tsunami waves of less than meters feet were recorded near the populated areas of the peninsula and the nearby Kuril Islands Meanwhile lava began to flow Wednesday from the Northern Hemisphere s largest volcano in a remote area of Kamchatka Observers also heard explosions the Russian Academy of Sciences geophysical function revealed Evacuations ordered in South America Chile a place highly vulnerable to earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis raised its warning to the highest level early Wednesday for the bulk of its lengthy Pacific coast and mentioned it was evacuating hundreds of people Remember that the first wave is usually not the strongest Chilean President Gabriel Boric warned on social media Let s act calmly and follow official instructions Colombian personnel ordered the complete closure and evacuation of beaches and low-tide areas while maritime traffic was being restricted Instruction functionaries in Ecuador canceled classes at schools in the Galapagos Islands as well as communities along the coast Hawaii downgrades to tsunami advisory Officers in Hawaii downgraded the state to a tsunami advisory early Wednesday and evacuation orders on the Big Island and Oahu the largest part populated island were lifted An advisory signals there is the foreseen for strong currents dangerous waves and flooding on beaches or in harbors As you return home still stay off the beach and stay out of the water commented James Barros administrator of the Hawaii Exigency Management Agency In northern California tsunami activity continued to build Wednesday morning with maximum verified heights along the coast of feet meters in Crescent City The Oregon Department of Exigency Management noted small tsunami waves were expected This is not a major tsunami but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a hazard to those near the water the department reported Several regions received alerts warning of tsunami waves several feet high which might not seem highly threatening to people unfamiliar with the risks You have to think of tsunamis more like storm surge during hurricanes and not big waves in the open ocean announced Diego Melgar director of Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center at the University of Oregon It might only be feet but it s a wall of water that s feet and spans hundreds of miles Three feet of water can easily inundate inland and flood a couple blocks inland from the beach Russian regions overview limited damage In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky the quake damaged a local kindergarten which was not in operation at the time because it was being renovated A video circulated by a Russian media outlet manifested a club of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a person and clutching biological equipment as the quake rocked an operating room before continuing with surgery Officials introduced a state of exigency on the sparsely populated nearby Kurils after the tsunami They earlier revealed that several waves flooded the fishing port of Severo-Kurilsk the main city on the islands and cut power supplies to the area The port s mayor commented no major damage was recorded Executives on Kamchatka peninsula canceled their warnings but stated particular jeopardy of waves remains Dozens in Japan find refuge on hilltops and on rooftops A tsunami of feet centimeters was recorded in Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate according to the Japan Meteorological Agency Several areas released smaller waves and at least one person was injured In Iwaki a city in Fukushima prefecture which was the epicenter of the tsunami and quake dozens of residents gathered at a hilltop park after a district siren sounded and breakwater gates were closed Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant severely damaged in took shelter on higher ground while remotely monitoring operations the operator declared By late Wednesday Japan had downgraded its tsunami alert but left an advisory in place along the Pacific coast Leadership in the Philippines Mexico and New Zealand warned residents to watch for waves and strong currents People were also urged to stay away from coastlines until any wave surges passed in Fiji Samoa Tonga Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands