An 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sea near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia on Tuesday night (29). The tremor must be classified as one of the ten strongest in the world. According to the geological service of the United States, the phenomenon occurred 19.3 km deep surface – a characteristic that increases the destructive potential and capable of generating waves or a possible tsunami.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that the earthquake epicenter was located about 250 km from the Japanese island of Hokkaido and was therefore slightly felt in parts of the Asian country. A tsunami warning was issued for numerous areas on the Pacific Ocean coast, such as Japan, Hawaii, West Costa of the United States, Canada and Alaska, and the American Island of Guam.
The Japanese government and the Haitian authorities asked the population to evacuate some parts of the territory and seek shelters in high places. As a preventive measure, workers of the damaged nuclear plant from Fukushima, in northeastern Japan, also left the installation.
The first wave of the tsunami, which reached heights of 30 to 40 centimeters, took place around 10:10 pm (Brasília time) and hit the island of Hokkaido. The Japanese emergency service has kept the warnings, claiming that new waves can come more intensely.
According to the English newspaper The Guardian, Russia, Tsunami flooded parts of the Severo-Kurilsk port city, where buildings were submerged by seawater. According to Reuters news agency, waves with height between 3 and 4 meters were recorded in parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula. So far, a kindergarten has been destroyed in the region, but there are no records of victims.
Beatriz Hadler under the supervision of Raquel Hoshino.
