First visuals: Tsunami hits Russia’s Kamchatka coast after 8.7 earthquake; waves up to 4 metres recorded

A powerful 8.7 magnitude earthquake hit off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, triggering a large tsunami and forcing people to evacuate coastal areas. The first clip of tsunami has emerged, showing submerged buildings along the coast and massive amounts of water drenching the land, with the video going viral on social media.East Russia governor had urged people to ‘stay away from the coast’ after tsunami alert.The quake struck at a depth of about 19 kilometres and was centred around 125 kilometres east-southeast of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.The tsunami waves reached up to 4 metres high and caused damage in several areas, reports Reuters. “Today’s earthquake was the strongest in decades,” Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video message, according to Reuters.Russia’s emergency services issued evacuation orders for affected areas. In Severo-Kurilsk, a small town south of Kamchatka, people were asked to leave their homes due to the tsunami threat. Tsunami warnings were also issued for Japan, Hawaii, and other parts of the Pacific. Japan’s weather agency warned that waves up to 3 metres could hit coastal cities around 0100 GMT.The wave struck Japan’s Hokkaido and measured about 30 centimetres (one foot) according to NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). NHK warned that bigger waves could hit next. The quake was about 250 kilometres away from Hokkaido.Japan’s weather agency earlier said waves up to three metres could hit the northern and eastern coasts, reaching as far south as Wakayama, near Osaka.US officials also placed Guam and other Micronesian islands under tsunami watch.