Tsunami warning lifted for Hawaii after small waves hit following mighty 8.8 earthquake in Russia

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Hawaii, the U.S. West Coast and Japan. No substantial damage has been reported but authorities warned people away from shorelines.

Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the 8.8 magnitude temblor’s epicenter flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu, even in areas away from shore.

Hours after the quake, Hawaii’s tsunami warning was downgraded to an advisory, while Japan’s Meteorological Agency also lowered its alert to an advisory for the Pacific coast south of Fukushima. The alert was still in place farther north.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTSC), which lifted the Hawaii warning, had forecast that the estimated arrival time of the first tsunami waves there would be 7:17 p.m. Tuesday local time (1:17 a.m. Wednesday EDT). CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB-TV reported that the first waves coming ashore were relatively small, though they came at high tide. Flooding was reported in numerous shoreline areas.

Officials urged people to move inland and shelters were opened in many parts of Hawaii.

The Oahu Department of Emergency Services said on X at 2:15 a.m. EDT, “Take Action NOW! Tsunami waves are currently impacting Hawaii.”  

The PTSC said the Hilo, Hawaii gauge recorded a tsunami height of 4.9 feet relative to normal sea levels and the Kahului Maui gauge recorded a tsunami height of four feet.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center director Chip McCreery said at 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. EDT) that, “We’ve got a ways to go. It’s probably going to be several hours before we may even be able to lower the warning here in Hawaii to advisory level when waves go down,” according to KGMB.  At about 10 p.m. local time, McCreery said wave heights appeared to have peaked and he hoped the warning could be downgraded within two hours. His timing was pretty much on-target. 

Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, said the impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day.   

“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he said. “It’s a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that’s where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.”

“In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they’re going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,” which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, which is between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet. He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller.

“This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land,” he said at a news conference.

Green said Black Hawk helicopters were activated and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities needed to rescue people. “But please do not put yourself in harm’s way,” he said.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast and urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.

“This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water,” the department said.

Much of the West Coast, spanning California, Washington state, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, was also under a tsunami advisory.

CBS News Los Angeles reported that California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted a statement on X saying the state’s Office of Emergency Services was coordinating with local officials in Northern California, from Cape Mendocino to the Oregon border. 

The station said Dr. Lucy Jones, a world-renowned seismologist, said experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that waves of about a foot were predicted for most of Southern California.

The National Weather Service Bay Area office said on X that, “The tsunami has arrived at Monterey as of 12:48 AM.” Other cities along the California coast were reporting the arrival of small to moderate-sized tsunami waves.

CBS News senior transportation and national correspondent Kris Van Cleave said some flights heading to Hawaii were turning around and going back to California, though KGMB reported some airports in Hawaii were beginning to re-open.

International impact

Mexico’s navy warned that tsunami waves will start reaching the northern coast in Ensenada, near California, at around 02:22 a.m. Wednesday local time, and waves could progress along the Pacific coast to Chiapas state, around 07:15 a.m. local time.  

A tsunami of under a foot was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

People went to evacuation centers in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan’s nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.

Russian authorities said several people were injured, without giving a figure. In Japan, at least one person was injured.

Tsunami heights of 3-4 meters were recorded in Kamchatka, 2 feet on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and up to 1.4 feet above tide levels on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japanese and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its strength to 8.8 magnitude and a depth of 13 miles.

The quake was centered about 74 miles east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed and experts predict aftershocks of up to 7.5 for at least a month, according to the Russian News agency TASS.

Severokurilsk Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said the port in the city was flooded by tsunami waves, washing fishing boats into the sea. He said no major damage was recorded.

Power supplies have been shut and the authorities were checking the power network after the flooding.

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.

The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected area suspending or delaying some operations.

Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant damaged by the 2011 tsunami said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure safety.

Philippine authorities advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal areas. “It may not be the largest of waves, but these can continue for hours and expose people swimming in the waters to danger,” Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.

New Zealand authorities warned of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” along all coastlines of the South Pacific island nation. The emergency management agency said people should move out of the water, off beaches and away from harbors, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

People were urged to stay away from coastlines until any wave surges passed late Wednesday in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands.

Some tiny and low-lying Pacific island chains are among the world’s most imperiled by tsunamis and rising seas due to climate change.

Earlier this month, five powerful quakes – the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 – struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest was at a depth of 12.4 miles and was 89 miles east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

A tsunami advisory has the potential for “strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or very near the water,” according to the NWS. A tsunami watch advises those to be prepared because a distant earthquake has occurred and a tsunami is possible. 

The lowest level of alert is a tsunami information statement from the NWS, which advises those to “relax” since an earthquake has occurred, but there is no threat or it was very far away.

How are tsunami levels categorized?

There are four levels of tsunami alerts: warning, advisory, watch and information statement, according to the National Weather Service.

A tsunami warning is the most severe. It means residents should take action due to a coming tsunami that may cause widespread flooding. 

A tsunami advisory means there’s the potential for “strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or very near the water,” according to the NWS.

A tsunami watch advises those to be prepared because a distant earthquake has occurred and a tsunami is possible. 

The lowest level of alert is a tsunami information statement from the NWS, which advises people to “relax” since an earthquake has occurred, but there is no threat or it was very far away.