Tsunami Impacts Hawaii, Alaska, West Coast After Russia Earthquake

At 7:24 pm ET on Tuesday, July 29th, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Russia’s Far East, prompting tsunami alerts for Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. West Coast. The largest earthquake ever recorded was a 9.5M quake in Biobio, Chile in 1960.

A couple locations on the West Coast remain under Tsunami Advisories through Crescent City, California.

Below are some of the observed maximum tsunami heights recorded for Hawaii, the West Coast of the United States, and Alaska. A part of the Northern California coast line was under a Tsunami Warning Wednesday morning as tsunami waves continued to come ashore. Below you can see the observations from Crescent City, CA where wave heights measured 3.7 ft.

Sirens sounded in Hawaii Tuesday evening every hour from when the Tsunami Warning was issued until the first waves impacted around 7:17 pm local time. Maximum amplitude of the waves reached nearly six feet in Kahului. For more on evacuation zones in Hawaii, see this website.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the impacts would be on a global scale, with waves of nearly 3 meters (~12 feet) possible along some coasts of Russia and Ecuador. 

The Tsunami Warning Center has broken down the potential hazards and public action needed to take based on the level of alerts. When a Tsunami warning is issued, you must move to higher ground or inland, as dangerous coastal flooding and powerful currents are possible.

The quake’s preliminary rating of 8.0 was later bumped up to an 8.8, making it one of the highest magnitude earthquakes in recorded history. 

Russia’s Tass news agency reported that many ran into the streets as damage started to occur to homes and other buildings, as they noticeably swayed under the earthquake's power.  

Earlier in July, five power quakes – the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 -- struck in the same area near Kamchatka.