Tsunami waves from the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck the mainland United States just before 1 a.m. Wednesday as the entire north Pacific was threatened by life-threatening water.
The waves, measuring at 3.6 feet, slammed into the Northern California coastline near the small enclave of Crescent City and Humboldt Bay, the National Weather Service Eureka announced.
The entire US West Coast had been under a tsunami advisory for hours after the world’s largest earthquake in 14 years struck 8.2 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia at around 7:24 p.m. ET.
A portion of the California Northern Coast from the California-Oregon border to Cape Mendocino, which includes Crescent City was placed under a tsunami warning.
Crescent City was considered to be at the highest risk of inundation before the arrival of the waves, NWS said.
Officials in the city of less than 6,000 warned residents it expected the tsumani warning to remain in effect throughout the night.
“High tide is projected to be at 3:30-4:00 am where we could see the higher surges arriving that may affect the lower lying areas. This event is expected to last through tomorrow but we will know more in the morning,” Crescent City City Hall said on Facebook.
Waves impacted San Francisco at around 1:12 a.m.
No injuries or damage were immediately known.
Hours earlier, residents in Hawaii braced for impact, as officials urged people to evacuate to higher ground, as hotel guests on vacation were told to head to areas above the fourth floor.
Evacuation orders caused gridlock traffic in parts of The Aloha State, as commercial air traffic was suspended at major airports including Hilo International Airport to facilitate in emergency evacuations.
The warnings were for caution as the highest wave measured during the threat was just under 6 feet larger than the average sea level.
A 5.7-foot wave was detected at Kahului on the north shore of Maui.
At 10:45 p.m. local time, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency downgraded the tsunami warning to an advisory and dropped the evacuation orders, allowing people to return to their homes.
Damage and minor injuries were reported on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, near the epicenter of the earthquake.
Several people were hurt as they rushed out of buildings during the intense quake, with one hospital patient injured after jumping out of a window, Oleg Melnikov, head of the regional health department, said.
A team of doctors at a Kamchatka cancer clinic were in the middle of surgery when the forceful tremors forced them to secure the patient in the operating room.
The medical staff resumed surgery after the shaking ended and they will be recognized with decorations, the Associated Press reported.
A local kindergarten in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was damaged during the quake and remained closed Wednesday for ongoing repairs.
Waves that hit Russia’s Kuril Islands topped over 10 feet and caused power outages and fishing boats to wash into the sea.
Russia’s Oceanology Institute said that tsunami waves might have been as high as 33-49 feet in some sections of the Kamchatka coast.
It said the waves that hit Severo-Kurilsk on the Kurils topped 19 feet.
Footage from the far east port city captured rising flood waters surrounding nearby buildings.
Japan sent out evacuation orders to over 2 million people living in over 220 prefectures from the northern island of Hokkaido to Okinawa.
Evacuees, who live in tsunami-affected areas, were warned they may not be able to return home until Thursday.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said waves could remain high for at least one day.
Large parts of Russia, China, Japan, Guam, Canada, Mexico and Central and South America were all under tsunami warnings or advisories after the quake.
With Post wires
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