August 1, 2025 | 10:54 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tsunami warnings that were previously issued in several Pacific countries have officially been lifted. Millions of residents who were evacuated are now allowed to return to their respective homes after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, subsided.
According to reports from CNA, the earthquake initially triggered predictions of a 4-meter-high tsunami wave in several Pacific regions.
Mass Evacuations in Various Countries
Several countries, including Japan, the United States, and Ecuador, had initially warned their citizens to stay away from coastal areas. In Japan, nearly two million people were instructed to evacuate to high ground.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the tsunami warning was changed to an advisory on Thursday morning, July 31, after waves measuring 0.7 meters were still recorded in several coastal points.
"We urge the public not to go in coastal waters and please stay away from coasts," said one of the seismologists from the agency. The highest wave recorded was in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, at a height of approximately 1.3 meters on Wednesday afternoon.
Local media in Japan reported one casualty, a woman who died after her car plunged from a cliff while trying to escape from the affected area.
Eleven other individuals were taken to the hospital due to symptoms of heatstroke while taking shelter, amidst extreme temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius.
Conditions in Chile, Galapagos, and Hawaii
In Chile, around 1.4 million people were evacuated to higher ground. As reported by Al Jazeera, the tsunami warnings in four areas in Chile were then downgraded from alert to caution on Thursday morning. No casualties or damage were reported, and waves of only 60 centimeters were recorded on the country's northern coast.
In the Galapagos Islands, initial estimates predicted waves as high as three meters. However, the Ecuadorian Navy's Oceanography Agency declared that the tsunami threat had passed. Residents had reported the sea receding and then suddenly rising, a phenomenon that commonly occurs when a tsunami is approaching.
"Everything is calm, I'm going back to work. The restaurants are reopening and the places tourists visit are also open again," said Isabel Grijalva, a 38-year-old resident of Santa Cruz, as quoted by CNA.
In Hawaii, authorities in Maui cancelled several flights. In Peru, 65 out of 121 Pacific ports were closed as a precautionary measure.
Damage in Russia and Volcanic Eruption
The region with the most severe damage is Russia. According to local officials, a tsunami wave hit the port of Severo-Kurilsk, submerging a fish processing plant.
According to Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov, the wave reached a World War II monument located 400 meters from the coastline.
The earthquake also caused minor damage, and several residents were injured. This was reported as the strongest earthquake in Russia since the earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people in Japan in 2011.
The Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia reportedly erupted shortly after the earthquake. "Red-hot lava is observed flowing down the western slope. There is a powerful glow above the volcano and explosions," said the Russian geophysical survey agency.
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