The tsunami triggered by the earthquake in Russia, which had previously affected Hawaii and Japan, reached the coast of California with waves of half a meter late in the morning Hungarian time, reports the BBC. According to the newspaper's live coverage, the size of the waves grew rapidly off the American coast, reaching a height of one meter within half an hour.
A little over an hour later, authorities in the San Francisco area warned residents that the tsunami could cause sudden and large changes in sea level (nearly one meter in 15 minutes), which could generate dangerous currents near the coast. For this reason, they advised people to stay away from the coast during the day. However, the size of the waves, which were around one meter, did not increase significantly.
In Japan, tsunami warnings were lowered for some areas shortly after noon, and for the entire country at 2:30 a.m. Hungarian time. The current warning level only places the danger at the immediate shore, so people are asked to avoid going into the water if possible.
The BBC also reported on the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to which no safety-threatening damage occurred at any nuclear facility along the coast.
In Russia, the tsunami alert was also lifted on the Kamchatka Peninsula 11 hours after the earthquake, Meduza reported. “However, this does not mean that everyone should immediately rush to the beach to watch the tsunami,” added Sergey Legedev, the Minister of Emergencies of the Kamchatka Territory, who made the announcement on Telegram.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin also reacted, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that “all emergency systems worked properly,” and adding that “thank God there were no victims.”
As we previously reported, an magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Russia early Wednesday, prompting a tsunami warning in Russia, Japan, and the United States.
The earthquake occurred about 126 kilometers from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, at a depth of 18 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey.
