8.7-magnitude earthquake in Russia’s Far East sets off tsunami warnings in Japan, Alaska and Hawaii

TOKYO (AP) — A tsunami has hit coastal areas of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s large northern island of Hokkaido after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake early Wednesday.

Tsunami warning sirens blared Tuesday in Honolulu and people were told to move to higher ground.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a first tsunami wave of about 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) reached Nemuro on the eastern coast of Hokkaido.

The first tsunami wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko. He said residents were safe and staying on high ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 meters (yards) above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan and the Solomon Islands. Waves of more than 3 meters (yards) were possible along some coastal areas of Russia and Ecuador.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TOKYO (AP) — A magnitude-8.7 earthquake in Russia’s Far East early Wednesday prompted tsunami warnings in parts of Japan, Alaska and Hawaii.

Damage and evacuations were reported in the Russian regions nearest the quake’s epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 meters (yards) above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan and the Solomon Islands. Waves of more than 3 meters (yards) were possible along some coastal areas of Russia and Ecuador.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami alert for Japan’s Pacific coast, saying waves up to 3 meter (yards) could arrive along the northern Japanese coasts less than half an hour after the alert.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami had been generated by the quake that could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.

“Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,” the warning stated. The first waves were expected around 7 p.m. Tuesday local time.

The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. Japan and the U.S. Geological Survey later updated their measurements to 8.7 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 19.3 kilometers (12 miles).

The quake was about 250 kilometers (160 miles) away from Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan’s NHK television.

Russia’s Tass news agency reported from the biggest city near the epicenter, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, that many people ran out into the street without shoes or outerwear. Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildings shook noticeably.

Tass also reported power outages and mobile phone service failures in the capital of the Kamchatka region.

Tass also quoted a local Russian official as saying residents on Sakhalin Island were being evacuated and emergency services were working at full capacity.

The National Tsunami Warning Center, based in Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and a watch for portions of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hawaii.

The advisory also includes a vast swath of Alaska’s coast line, including parts of the panhandle.

Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000.

On Nov. 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.