‘Most massive evacuation ever’: 1.4 million ordered to higher ground after mega earthquake
About 1.4 million people have been ordered to move to higher ground in what one country called “the most massive evacuation ever carried out”.
Environment
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Over one million people were evacuated from Chile’s coast after a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia triggered tsunami warnings in multiple countries in the Pacific.
The earthquake – one of the largest the world has ever seen – struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka coast on Wednesday.
Evacuations were ordered on Pacific Islands close to Latin America.
Chile said on Wednesday 1.4 million people were evacuated from its coast and ordered to move to higher ground.
“Nationwide, (the evacuation level) is estimated at 1.4 million people,” Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde told reporters after the first tsunami waves hit the South American country.
The ministry said the move was “perhaps the most massive evacuation ever carried out in our country”.
The country’s disaster agency, SENAPRED, has cancelled tsunami alerts for several areas, including Antarctic territory, Easter Island, San Felix Island and the regions of Aysén and Magallanes, CNN reports.
However other coastal areas remain on alert.
Authorities reported no damage or victims and registered waves of just 60 centimetres on the country’s north coast.
People living in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands were also evacuated away from the coast.
Cruise passengers reportedly abandoned
Earlier, arresting images emerged of cruise line passengers apparently being abandoned in Hawaii as the vessel frantically leaves port in order to avoid a possible tsunami following a massive earthquake in the Pacific Ocean.
Footage of people running to catch the cruise were posted onto social media site TikTok, reports The Sun.
“Actually insane,” said user demifreeman who posted the video. “We are going to be in the middle of the tsunami in the ocean”.
A cruise influencer known as Mandy, also posted to TikTok that her ship had left without her and she was headed to higher ground.
“People are upset. Nobody knows what’s going on, we have family on the ship, they’re terrified for us, we’re terrified for us.
“People are crying, this is crazy”.
It appears that vessel was operated by Norwegian Cruise Lines. Boats often leave port during a tsunami as the effects of the waves at sea is often far less pronounced then when the waves hit land.
On UK TV program BBC Breakfast, British tourist Rachael Burrows said she was visiting Hawaii on a cruise when the tsunami warnings erupted. She said she was told by a tour guide on a shore excursion that it was “time to go” and she rushed back to the boat.
“We were luckily some of the last ones to get on the cruise ship,” Ms Burrows said.
“Then we could see a lot of other people getting dropped off and lining up, but they didn’t make it”.
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‘Ring of fire’ warning
The Klyuchevskoy volcano in eastern Russia began erupting shortly after the earthquake, according to the Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Cameras observing the volcano captured “explosions” and a “powerful glow above the volcano”, with “a descent of hot lava … observed on the western slope”, the academy wrote on messaging app Telegram.
A representative for the US Geological Survey (USGS) told Live Science the volcano had been “showing signs of unrest” in the weeks leading up to the earthquake.
“While yesterday’s large earthquake did not cause the eruption to begin, it did likely increase in the vigour of the eruption including some ash emission,” the USGS representative said.
Klyuchevskoy, which rises 4754 meters above sea level on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an enormous ring of active and dormant volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean.
Experts have now warned that the earthquake could trigger volcanic eruptions.
“The volcanoes in volcanic arcs, including Chile, the US Cascades, Japan, Indonesia and Kamchatka, are prone to erupt after earthquakes,” Michael Manga, a geoscientist at the University of California, Berkeley, told The Daily Mail.
He said volcanoes in the westernmost part of the Ring of Fire, covering Russia, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, were at increased risk.
Millions return home as more warnings lifted
Tsunami waves hit the US mainland after the world’s biggest earthquake in 14 years sparked warnings for millions in the northern hemisphere.
However, the US’ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the threat to America has now “passed completely” by Wednesday afternoon, US time.
Waves did hit the US however. One more than one metre in height hit Crescent City in northern California on Wednesday morning, local time.
In Hawaii, evacuation centres were set up as a precaution, but the local government has since lifted its evacuation order with no “wave of consequence” occurring.
Tsunami warnings in the Cook Islands have now been downgraded as well as parts of British Columbia in Canada and Alaska.
In Japan, almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground, before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast, with waves up to 0.7 metres still being observed on Thursday.
“We urge the public not to go in coastal waters and please stay away from coasts,” a seismologist at Japan’s meteorological agency said.
Wave heights had reached more than 1.2 metres in the Kuji Port and Hamanaka areas. Tokyo said its nuclear power plants, including Fukushima on the coast which was the victim of a previous tsunami, were safe.
Kenny Onishi, the general manager of Japan for Australian travel company Intrepid Travel, told news.com.au there had been no significant damage to major tourist sites.
“Some marine operations and low-lying infrastructure were affected, but recovery is expected to be quick,” he said on Thursday morning.
Mr Onishi said earthquakes and tsunami warnings were “part of life” in Japan and they were generally well-prepared.
“This time, the response felt swift and coordinated, especially with the J-Alert system activating across affected regions,” he said. “There’s a calm but cautious atmosphere – people are alert but not panicked, thanks to Japan’s robust disaster preparedness.”
In the Galapagos Islands, where waves of up to three meters were expected, there was relief as the Ecuadoran navy’s oceanographic institute said the danger had passed.
Locals reported the sea level falling and then rising suddenly, a phenomenon which is commonly seen with the arrival of a tsunami.
But only a surge of just over a metre was reported, causing no damage.
The worst-hit nation has been Russia with waves in some places of more than three metres and possibly up to five.
Images from the Pacific town of Severo-Kurilsk show damage caused by the waves including a fish processing plant that was washed away. Another video showed buildings in the town submerged in seawater.
‘Walls shaking’
Russian authorities said the population of around 2000 people was evacuated safely after several people were injured by the quake.
“The walls were shaking,” a Kamchatka resident told Russian state media.
“It’s good that we packed a suitcase, there was one with water and clothes near the door. We quickly grabbed it and ran out … It was very scary,” she said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov took a day off from justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to turn to the earthquake and tsunamis.
“In general, the seismic resistance of the buildings proved itself, so thank God there are no victims,” he told reporters.
There have been no known casualties in Russia or elsewhere.
Largest quake since 2011
The quake reached a magnitude of 8.8 and struck off east-southeast of Kamchatka off the coast of Russia, about 9.24pm (AEST).
It is the largest earthquake to hit since 2011, when a 9.1 megaquake hit northeast Japan and left 19,747 people either dead or missing — and it is the strongest in the region since 1952.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has added Australia to its advisory, saying waves of 0.3 to 1m are possible along the east coast.
US President Donald Trump urged Americans to “stay strong and stay safe” on Tuesday night.
“Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii. A Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Japan is also in the way. Please visit tsunami.gov/ for the latest information. STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!” he wrote.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3km, centred about 125km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000.
The USGC has recorded six earthquakes in total off the coast of Russia, with initial readings of magnitude 6.9, 6.3, 5.4, 5.7 and 5.6.
An 8.8 magnitude earthquake was the region’s strongest since 1952, with aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude possible, the regional seismic monitoring service said, per Agence France-Presse.
Kamchatka’s geophysical service said: “The strongest earthquake since 1952 has just occurred in the Kamchatka seismic zone … Given the scale of the event, strong aftershocks with a magnitude of up to 7.5 should be expected.”
“Unfortunately, there are patients who were injured during the earthquake … All patients are in satisfactory condition. No serious injuries have been reported at this time,” Kamchatka region health minister Oleg Melnikov was quoted as saying by the state TASS news agency.
– With AFP
Originally published as ‘Most massive evacuation ever’: 1.4 million ordered to higher ground after mega earthquake
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