A violent earthquake of magnitude 8.8 was recorded this night off the coast of Kamchatckain Russia. At the moment, however, there is a discordance of data: according to the USGS, the epicenter was detected at approximately 136 km from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskyto a depth of 20.7 km. The INGV, on the other hand, reports a magnitude 8.6 to 2km deep.
The first shock followed three more, of magnitude between 5.3 and 6.9 and depth between 10 and 30 km: it is therefore a seismic sequence which, unlike the swarm, contains one Main Shockthat is, an earthquake of major magnitude.
Following the earthquake, a tsunami alert was issued throughout the Pacific area, with waves that could reach 3/4 meters high: in Japan it was ordered the evacuation of the workers who are working on the dismantling of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, while in Hawaii an immediate evacuation order for coastal areas has been issued.
At the moment, according to what was reported by the Russian authorities, there would be numerous injured: this is the sixth more violent earthquake ever registered In history and the strongest detected in the area since 1952.
The situation in Kamchatcka
In Kamchatcka the earthquake caused different damage to the buildings: among these also a nursery school, collapsed shortly after the first shock. According to the Russian authorities, there would be numerous injured, although the overall number of the people involved is not clear.
The waves of the tsunami began to arrive immediately afterwards, mainly hitting the district of Severo-Kurilsk On the southern tip of the Kamchatka peninsula. The state of emergency was declared in the district, after the water has also damaged several industrial infrastructures. The 2,500 inhabitants were immediately evacuated: in 1952 the same town was hit by a tsunami caused by an earthquake of magnitude 9.0. Different orNDE of 3-4 meters have already been recorded also in Elizovsky district.
Just a week ago, 5 strong earthquake shocks had already been recorded off the coast of Kamchatka, of which the strongest of M7.4: in that case, the tsunami alert had returned shortly after and large damage had not been reported.
The entire region is characterized by aIntesa geological activitybeing above the Pacific fire beltthat is, the band of the planet most affected by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In particular, the Kamchatka peninsula is located above the point of subduction of the Pacific busty plaques below the continental ones.
Evacuations in Hawaii and Japan
At the moment, the waves of the tsunami have just hit the Hawaii: in Haleiwa, on the northern coast of the island of Oahu, waves have been recorded by one and a half meteras also confirmed by the Oahu Emergency Management on X.
In Japanon the other hand, the evacuation order was sent to more than 1.9 million of people in 21 different prefectures. The first waves of the tsunami are already hitting many parts of the eastern coast, from the northernmost island of Hokkaido to the main island of Honshu, also near the Tokyo metropolitan area. For the moment, however, the waves measure up to 60 centimeters, below 3 meters initially expected.
The Tsunami alert was issued throughout the Pacific area, from the island of Guam, up to Alaska, Ecuador and the entire American western coast.
Sources
USGS
US Tsunami Warning System
