Indonesia warns of possible minor tsunami in coastal areas after Russia quake

Jakarta, July 30 (IANS) Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Wednesday issued a warning of a possible tsunami of less than 0.5 metres following a powerful earthquake in Russia.

The agency said the possible tsunami could affect several coastal areas across Indonesia, with varying arrival times starting from midday.

“Coastal communities in the potentially affected areas are advised to remain calm and temporarily stay away from the shoreline,” said Daryono, head of BMKG’s earthquake and tsunami mitigation division.

The affected areas may include parts of Gorontalo, North Maluku, North Sulawesi, West Papua, Papua, and Southwest Papua provinces, such as Gorontalo City, North Halmahera, Talaud Islands, Sorong, Supiori, Manokwari, Jayapura, Biak Numfor, Sarmi, and Raja Ampat.

Daryono also urged the public to rely solely on official information from BMKG, available through its verified communication channels, Yonhap news agency reported.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, massive earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale struck off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake occurred at approximately 23:24 GMT on Tuesday, with its epicentre located about 125 km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a major city in the far eastern region of Russia.

Initially reported as an 8.0 magnitude quake, the USGS later revised its assessment to 8.7, citing updated data.

The earthquake was recorded at a relatively shallow depth of 19.3 kilometres (12 miles), increasing the likelihood of significant surface-level shaking and potential tsunami waves.

The powerful tremor triggered a tsunami alert across parts of the Pacific Ocean, with the USGS warning that destructive tsunami waves could impact coastal areas of Russia and Japan within three hours of the earthquake.

Coastal residents in the affected regions have been urged to move to higher ground and follow local emergency protocols.

Following the powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, multiple countries across the Pacific region have issued urgent tsunami warnings, urging residents to take immediate precautions.

The earthquake, which originated 125 km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of 19.3 km, triggered fears of potentially destructive tsunami waves across a wide area of the Pacific Ocean.

In response, governments and agencies in Japan, the United States (Hawaii), and the Philippines have activated emergency protocols.

In Japan, the Prime Minister’s Office posted a directive on its official

“Provide timely and accurate information to the public regarding the tsunami, evacuation, etc., and take thorough measures to prevent damage, such as the evacuation of residents. Assess the state of affairs regarding damage as soon as possible. Act in close coordination with local governments and, under the principle of prioritising human life above all else, spare no effort in our emergency disaster responses, including saving lives and rescuing disaster victims, with the Government working as one,” it added.

A tsunami warning has been issued for the eastern Pacific coast of Hokkaido and other widespread coastal areas. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) advised residents to check the estimated arrival times and expected wave heights via their official website.

–IANS

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