The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a tsunami advisory for parts of the United States on Thursday, following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s eastern coast.
The colossal quake occurred just before noon PDT on Thursday, approximately 90 miles east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
NOAA’s tsunami advisory, the second-highest alert level, was promptly issued for Amchitka Pass, Alaska. “No other U.S. or Canadian continental locations are in an alert,” stated the National Weather Service on X. The news comes as UK households were urged to stock up on batteries and torches on Saturday.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu confirmed there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii. “Based on all available data a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii,” the centre announced.
“This will be the final statement issued for this event unless additional data are received.”
While not as severe as a tsunami threat, a tsunami advisory still involves the possibility of small waves impacting an area. Minor flooding of beaches and harbours is possible, and strong currents could endanger those in or near the water, reports the Express US.
If waves from the earthquake do hit Hawaii, they would not arrive until close to 3 p. m. local time.
The identical region in eastern Russia was struck in July by an even more powerful, 8.8-magnitude earthquake.
The incident triggered tsunami waves to surge across the Pacific Ocean and prompted a cascade of warnings to inhabitants as distant as Hawaii and California.
The Kuril-Kamchatka Arc ranks amongst the most seismically volatile regions globally, according to the USGS.
It regularly experiences “large” earthquakes of 7-magnitude or above, and “great” earthquakes of 8-magnitude or beyond.
Between 1900 and 2014, the arc endured 133 large and 12 great earthquakes, numerous of which were succeeded by devastating tsunamis.
The most substantial megathrust earthquake to strike along the arc during the 20th century happened on Nov. 4, 1952, according to the USGS.
The 9-magnitude tremor remains, to this day, the fifth most significant instrumentally documented quake occurrence in history.
Tsunami waves that pursued the earthquake achieved heights of 12 metres along the coastline of Paramushir.