A powerful earthquake, the strongest since 1952, struck Kamchatka, Russia, triggering a tsunami and causing damage to buildings. The magnitude 8.7 quake’s epicenter was located 149 km southeast of the regional capital at a depth of 17 km.
Three tsunami waves hit Severo-Kurilsk, tearing ships from their moorings. Almost 300 people were evacuated from the port, but they did not require medical assistance. The Alaid fishing enterprise in Severo-Kurilsk was almost entirely flooded.
In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a wall collapsed at kindergarten No. 15, but miraculously, no one was injured. Children were relocated to other facilities, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations is on site. City Children’s Polyclinic No. 1 was temporarily closed for inspection due to damage.
One woman at the airport sustained injuries but is in satisfactory condition. The airport resumed operations shortly after evacuation. Meanwhile, surgeons at a local cancer center continued an operation despite the tremors.
Experts predict aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 7.5 for at least a month. Rescuers are currently inspecting buildings for further damage.
The earthquake’s effects extended beyond Russia, as a 30 cm tsunami reached northern Japan. Authorities suspended high-speed train traffic and deployed aircraft for monitoring. Tsunami threats were also announced in Hawaii, Chile, and Taiwan.
Amidst the chaos, medical personnel in Kamchatka urge the public to avoid hindering ambulance crews. They are responding to a surge in calls, primarily related to high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and epileptic seizures. Significant traffic jams have formed at gas stations and on roads leading out of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovo as residents seek to leave the city.
On Shumshu Island, scientists at a Russian Geographical Society camp were unharmed after feeling the tremors and climbing a hill, though they lost most of their belongings.