LATEST:Threats lowered across all warning regions to advisories or tsunami watches.
At 9.50 pm Hawaii Time, 8.50 am GMT, Hawaii Governor Josh Green addressed the people of Hawaii and its visitors:
Aloha mai kฤkou,
An earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia, generated a tsunami that made landfall in the Hawaiian Islands this evening.
We have thankfully not seen waves as big as the scientific models predicted. However, officials are urging residents and visitors to monitor local media for updates and continue to stay away from the coastline until the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues an “all clear.”
For those flying in or out of Hawai‘i this evening, please check with your airline for the status of your flight.
We will continue to share updates as they become available.
Weather Information
- National Weather Service Forecast: www.weather.gov/hawaii
- U.S. Tsunami Warning System: tsunami.gov
- Tsunami Evacuation Zones: dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/public-resources/tsunami-evacuation-zone/
County Information
- County of Hawaiสปi (Hawai‘i Island): records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/Browse.aspx?startid=24604&dbid=1&cr=1
- City and County of Honolulu (O‘ahu): www.honolulu.gov/dem
- County of Kauaสปi: www.kauai.gov/KEMA
- County of Maui (Maui, Molokaสปi, Lฤnaสปi): www.mauicounty.gov/261/Tsunami-Evacuation-Maps
Media Updates
- Honolulu Star-Advertiser: www.staradvertiser.com
- Hawaii News Now: www.hawaiinewsnow.com
- KHON: www.khon2.com
- KITV: www.kitv.com
The first wave may not be the biggest! Get away from the tsunami zones, coastal zones on all islands in the State of Hawaii. The Waikiki Tourism Center is located in a tsunami zone. Visitors are instructed to move to floors five and above in their hotels and avoid walking on the streets and beach.
Currently, 5-foot waves were measured in northern Maui, three-foot waves in numerous other regions in the Aloha state.
Honolulu city officials urged residents and visitors to remain cautious as tsunami waves began hitting the state on Tuesday night. Waves of 4 feet have been measured in Kahului and Hanalei, and 3 feet in Haleiwa on Oahu’s North Shore and Maui.
At 8.30 pm local time Tuesday, 2.30 am EST, or 7.30 am GMT (Wednesday), the Emergency Management center in Honolulu is repeating its urgent warning.
The public, including visitors, should stay outside the evacuation zone until further notice and refrain from re-entering evacuated areas until emergency officials give the all-clear, officials said.
Alaska Airlines, operator of Hawaiian Airlines, halts Hawaii flights due to tsunami warning, reroutes departures, and updates its flexible travel policy for impacted travelers.
A tsunami warning is also in effect for portions of Northern California.Waves are beginning to hit Northern California, moving to the southern part. The public is ordered to stay out of the water.
“There have been significant changes in the ocean levels, especially on the north shore of Oahu,” city officials said in a news release. “Pacific Tsunami Warning Center experts remind everyone that the threat is not over and tsunami impacts could still occur over the next couple of hours. Damage reports are not yet available.
“All residents in the City and County of Honolulu are urged to remain in higher elevations out of the tsunami inundation zone.”
In Guam, a Tsunami warning is also in effect due to the same 8.8 earthquake that was measured in the eastern part of Russia earlier.
This powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia today, triggering a tsunami in parts of the country as well as in Japan. These two tsunami warnings in Japan were cancelled. This earthquake is the largest ever recorded since 2011.
Kamchatka is a 1,250-kilometre-long peninsula located in the Far East of Russia. The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk serve as the eastern and western coastlines of the peninsula, respectively.
The climate of the Kamchatka Peninsula is severe, characterized by prolonged, cold, and snowy winters and wet, cool summers.
Kamchatka has a long history of unrest on the peninsula. The peninsula falls on the volatile “Ring of Fire” — a seismically active belt that circles the Pacific Ocean.
The Ring of Fire is one of the most earthquake-prone zones in the world, making Kamchatka a seismically susceptible area.
OAHU, HAWII
TSUNAMI WAVES ARE NOW IMPACTING THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT
ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY.
A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF LONG OCEAN WAVES. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAVE
CREST CAN LAST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OR MORE AND EXTENSIVELY FLOOD
COASTAL AREAS. THE DANGER MAY PERSIST FOR MANY MORE HOURS AS
WAVES ACTIVITY CONTINUES. TSUNAMI WAVES EFFICIENTLY WRAP AROUND
ISLANDS SO ALL SHORES ARE AT RISK NO MATTER WHICH DIRECTION THEY
FACE. THE TROUGH OF A TSUNAMI WAVE MAY TEMPORARILY EXPOSE THE
SEAFLOOR BUT THE AREA WILL QUICKLY FLOOD AGAIN. EXTREMELY STRONG
AND UNUSUAL NEARSHORE CURRENTS CAN ACCOMPANY A TSUNAMI. DEBRIS
PICKED UP AND CARRIED BY A TSUNAMI AMPLIFIES ITS DESTRUCTIVE
POWER. SIMULTANEOUS HIGH TIDES OR HIGH SURF CAN SIGNIFICANTLY
INCREASE THE TSUNAMI HAZARD.
FURTHER MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS
WARRANT UNTIL THE THREAT TO HAWAII HAS PASSED.
GUAM
* SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS THAT ARE GENERALLY NO MORE THAN 3 FEET
ABOVE AND BELOW THE TIDE LEVEL.
* MINOR FLOODING OF BEACH AND HARBOR AREAS.
* STRONG AND UNUSUAL OCEAN CURRENTS IN HARBORS... BAYS... AND
OTHER NEAR SHORE WATERS.
* THE HAZARD BEGAN AROUND 237 PM CHST ON WEDNESDAY JULY 30 AND
IT CAN PERSIST FOR MANY HOURS OR LONGER.
In Guam, residents were urged to stay out of the water and advised to move at least 100 feet (30 meters) inland and 50 feet above sea level from beaches and harbors. The port authority and other government agencies suspended operations, while marina users and residents were told to evacuate to higher ground. Workers in some businesses – including the Guam visitors bureau in the coastal district of Tumon – were sent home. People were less worried in Guam due to the unique location behind a reef.
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