Oprah Winfrey has hit back at claims she failed to open her private road in Maui, Hawaii after the island was hit by tsunami warnings.

Parts of the U.S. and Japan were warned about an incoming tsunami, which was triggered by an ‘one of the biggest ever’ earthquakes off Russia.

Evacuations were initiated in Hawaii, Japan, Russia, Colombia, and a portion of the U.S. West Coast following an earthquake near Russia’s southeastern Kamchatka Peninsula, which produced 15-foot waves across the Pacific Ocean.

Off the back of the 8.8 megaquake, thousands of residents on Hawaii have been forced to evacuate their homes to find safety. 

Residents on the island have claimed that Oprah ‘refused’ to open her private road, which would help ease congestion for those trying to escape.

Videos posted by people at the scene show gridlocked traffic jams as others claimed there are ‘thousands’ trying to leave low lying areas.

One user on X mentioned: ‘Oprah is not allowing access through her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would significantly ease the effort for locals attempting to reach safer, higher ground.

Oprah Winfrey has hit back at claims she failed to open her private road in Maui, Hawaii after the island was hit by tsunami warnings

It has been reported that residents on the island are claiming Oprah ‘declined’ to make her private route accessible, which would alleviate traffic issues for those attempting to evacuate (shown is Oprah’s estate in Hawaii).

‘Massive Traffic in Maui with thousands trying to escape the massive Tsunami coming. Open the road Oprah.’

Another person stated: ‘Oprah has yet to open her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would provide coastal residents a direct path to evacuate to higher ground quickly, locals informed me. OPEN THE ROAD, @OPRAH.

‘Roads on Maui are GRIDLOCKED as people try to escape the incoming Tsunami.’

However, Oprah’s spokesperson has now insisted that these claims are false and that she opened the road as soon as she heard the warnings. 

They indicated: ‘Upon hearing the tsunami alerts, we immediately reached out to local authorities and FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to ensure the road access. Any claims to the contrary are incorrect.

Local law enforcement is currently present, assisting residents by regulating the flow of vehicles, allowing 50 cars through at a time to maintain safety. The road access will be maintained as long as needed.

Data from the US Geological Survey shows the quake reached a magnitude of 8.8 and struck about 84 miles east-southeast of Kamchatska, Russia at around 7.24pm EST – marking the sixth strongest earthquake ever.

It was also believed to be the strongest to strike on the entire planet in 14 years, when a 9.1 megaquake hit northeast Japan and left 19,747 people either dead or missing.

Rescuers inspecting a damaged kindergarten building in Russia’s Kamchatka region after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s far east coast

Residents in Hawaii were forced to evacuate from coastal areas as the entire island chain braced for the impact to strike. Water was seen receding at around 7.40pm local time, or 1.40am EST.

The first tsunami waves hit Hawaii at 8.20pm local time, 2.20am EST. Water levels were above 4 feet in Haleiwa on Oahu’s north shore, reaching 5 feet just minutes later and causing floods.  

At 10.40pm local time the tsunami warning for Hawaii was downgraded from a warning to an advisory, with Pacific Tsunami Warning Center director Chip McCreery saying the ‘worst part of it’ is over, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

There is still a tsunami warning in place for Northern California. 

The California and Oregon border is now also under a tsunami warning, while advisories remained in effect for the rest of the West Coast of the United States.

The first tsunami waves hit Hawaii at 8.20pm local time, 2.20am EST. Water levels were above 4 feet in Haleiwa on Oahu’s north shore, reaching 5 feet just minutes later and causing floods.

Oahu Emergency Management warned residents: ‘Tsunami waves are currently impacting Hawaii. Take action NOW!’ 

In California, the first waves hit the coast at Crescent City near the Oregon border just after midnight local time, while tsunami waves hit Washington state not long after.

President Donald Trump urged Americans to ‘STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE.’ 

Videos posted by people at the scene show gridlocked traffic jams as others claimed there are ‘thousands’ trying to leave low lying areas (Ala Way Harbour, Waikiki)

People who evacuated to the rooftop of a building in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on July 30, 2025

Locals were seen running to supermarkets to stock up on water and other essentials as Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation for the state.

‘We pray that we won’t lose any loved ones,’ the governor said in a news conference as he warned the public to not ‘go out until we give you the all clear.’ 

Photos posted online also showed bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Honolulu highway as residents scrambled to get to higher ground. On Oahu, the US Army and Navy opened Kolekole Pass and sections of Schofield Barracks on Oahu to help with the evacuation efforts there as at least one critical traffic accident was reported.

The National Guard is also prepared to help with any rescue efforts and Blackhawk helicopters have been deployed, but Green warned ‘it is not likely we will recover you’ if residents are swept up in the massive waves.

Beaches along the Southern California coast were closed as a safety precaution, with LAPD helicopters blaring warning sirens and ordering those on boats and at the shore to get to higher ground. 

But a tsunami threat soon covered Japan, where workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant were forced to evacuate.

More than 1.9 million people in the country were under evacuation orders late Tuesday night, after the Nemuro Hanasaki port reported a one-foot wave.

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said so far no injuries or damages have been reported.

Officials in Guam also urged residents to get off the beaches and harbors, while officials in Ecuador issued its own evacuation orders.

Even tsunami waves that seem relatively small, like those that are just six inches in height, can be destructive.

Officials say it only takes six inches of the fast-moving water to knock over an adult, and two feet to carry away most vehicle. 

‘Strong currents can injure and drown people in or near the water and damage and destroy boats and infrastructure in harbors,’ the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program warns.

The quake hit near Russia’s eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, casting out 15ft waves across the Pacific and causing rock fall into the ocean

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early on July 30, causing tsunamis of up to four metres (12 feet) across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan

Oahu residents seek refuge from the threat of tsunami in a Walmart parking lot in Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii, Tuesday, July 29, 2025

The earthquake on Tuesday came just over one week after several other tremors struck the area, including one that measured a 7.4 magnitude. 

Tuesday’s earthquake is the largest this year, and is the first magnitude 8.0 or higher since 2021.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake previously hit Ecuador in 1906, killing 1,500 people with impacts reaching as far north as San Francisco. More recently, an 8.8-magnitude quake stuck Chile in 2010, killing 523 people and destroying more than 370,000 homes.

An 8.7-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Rat Islands of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands in 1965 also generated a tsunami that was reportedly 35 feet high. 

Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.