A volcano in Russia’s Far East erupted hours after a major earthquake triggered tsunami warnings as far away as California and Chile.
Hot lava flowed down the western slope of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano – the most active in Europe and Asia – following a series of explosions.
Earlier on Wednesday, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake – the sixth strongest ever on record – struck off the coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, where the volcano is located.
The shallow quake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard was ordered to evacuate, as were parts of Hawaii.
“It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes,” Yaroslav, 25, from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, told Reuters.
In Severo-Kurilsk, south of Kamchatka, tsunami waves exceeding 9ft swept through the coastal town, carrying buildings and debris into the sea. All the residents had been evacuated.
By the evening, Russia, Japan, and the US had downgraded most tsunami warnings after strong waves – smaller than initially feared – hit their coasts, with officials saying the worst is over.
However, powerful waves as high as 8ft are expected to hit French Polynesia and several of the remote Marquesas Islands and residents have been told to move to higher ground.
Here’s a round-up of the day’s events:
- An 8.8 magnitude struck of the coast of Russia’s Far East – the sixth strongest ever recorded
- Waves of up to 13ft hit the Kamchatka Peninsula, damaging buildings and injuring several
- Tsunami warnings were issued for Japan and parts of the US, including Hawaii, California and Alaska
- Nearly two million people on Japan’s eastern seaboard were under evacuation advisories
- The earthquake triggered the eruption of the most active volcano in Eurasia
- The tsunami alerts were downgraded by evening across Russia, Japan and the US
- Russia’s Far East, the epicentre of the earthquake, was largely spared from damages or casualties
- Parts of South America remained under tsunami warnings by Wednesday evening
