(KTLA) — An 8.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Eastern Russia has prompted a tsunami watch for coastal areas of the western United States.
The earthquake, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey, occurred at 4:25 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, with a depth of approximately 11 miles, situated 80 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk Kamchatka.
The National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska issued a tsunami warning for regions of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, along with a watch for parts of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.
The advisory also includes a vast swath of Alaska’s coast line, including parts of the panhandle.
Dave Snider, the tsunami warning coordinator at the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, stated on Tuesday evening that there were no specific damage reports from the tsunami triggered by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake.
Expected maximum tsunami heights varied from under 1 foot to roughly 5 feet (less than 30 centimeters to 1.5 meters) across parts of Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and California, with higher levels anticipated in certain locations.
The center said some places could still be feeling impacts from the tsunami for hours or perhaps more than a day.
“A tsunami is not just one wave,” Snider explained. “It consists of a series of powerful waves over an extended period. Tsunamis travel across the ocean at hundreds of miles per hour, comparable to a jet airplane, in deep water. However, as they approach the shore, they decelerate and begin to build up, which increases the potential for inundation there.”
A tsunami warning was also issued for Hawaii, with the National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center indicating that a tsunami generated by the earthquake could impact all the Hawaiian islands’ coastlines, causing potential damage.
“Tsunami waves reaching one to three meters above the tide level are possible along some coasts of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported.
Traffic was backed up in some neighborhoods in Honolulu, and officials were preparing to open a mountain pass as an evacuation route out of Waianae, a coastal community on the island of Oahu, said sate Rep. Darius Kila. Even though it’s summer break, some schools issued alerts canceling sports and other activities.
Residents in coastal areas under a tsunami watch or warning are urged to stay alert for additional updates and be aware of estimated tsunami start times.
These watches and warnings will remain in effect until further notice.
A tsunami has already hit coastal areas of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s large northern island of Hokkaido following the quake.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
