Russia was struck by one of the strongest earthquakes in history

A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Far East early yesterday morning, causing tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska and mass evacuations across the Pacific Ocean.

• It marks the strongest quake seen on Earth since a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast in March 2011, which created a tsunami that killed 18,000+ people and caused the Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
• The US Geological Survey also said it believes yesterday’s earthquake is tied for the sixth-strongest tremor on record (dating back to 1900), but more data is needed before this can be verified.

The aftermath

Areas nearest to the epicenter on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula reported damage and evacuations due to the earthquake, but no serious injuries.

• The tremor also set off tsunami warnings across Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand, while Japan issued evacuation orders covering ~2 million residents near the coastline. A majority of flights to Hawaii were canceled, delayed, or rerouted to the mainland for several hours.
• In North America, several states on the US West Coast were placed under a tsunami advisory.

Despite extensive precautions, however, none of officials’ worst fears materialized after the earthquake.

Waves reached a max height of 5.7 feet above sea level in Hawaii yesterday, while the US West Coast peaked at 3.5 feet. In Japan, the country’s Meteorological Agency warned of tsunami waves as high as 10 feet; those that arrived post-earthquake had a max height of just 1.6 feet.

But…Meteorological experts say the potential tsunami danger from such a major earthquake could last for more than a day, so the coast isn’t yet all clear. Aftershocks are also ongoing and will likely continue for weeks, with 90+ earthquakes of at least magnitude-4.4 recorded in the hours after yesterday’s initial major tremor.