Pacific Tsunami

Seismologist: Danger not over – but looks positive

The danger of really big tsunami waves is largely over after the earthquake on the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula, seismologist Björn Lund tells TT.

However, it is important to be careful near the coasts of several countries, he adds. During the afternoon, the waves will reach Australia, New Zealand and South America. In several countries they are expected to be smaller, but they could be three meters high in Ecuador.

– We will see. It is also very local how the coast looks and how the sea shallows against the coast that determines how the wave grows, says Lund. 

The earthquake on the Kamchatka Peninsula
Russian volcano has erupted after the earthquake

Kljutjevskaya Sopka, Eurasia's largest active volcano, has erupted after the strong earthquake last night. This is reported by Russian media according to Reuters.

“Red-hot lava is seen flowing along the western slope. Strong glow above the volcano and explosions,” writes the Russian seismological research institute GC RAS on Telegram.

The volcano is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, where the earthquake occurred, around 450 kilometers north of the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It has an altitude of 4,750 meters above sea level.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.8, has resulted in several injuries on the Kamchatka Peninsula. However, there are no reports of deaths.

Earthquake on the Kamchatka Peninsula
Surgeons caught in the middle of the earthquake during surgery

When the earthquake struck the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula last night, a group of surgeons at an oncology clinic were in the middle of an operation, reports Novaya Gazeta Europe.

A clip from the operating room shows them holding the patient and equipment while the room shakes.

– It shook non-stop for five to six minutes. Sometimes it got stronger and sometimes weaker, so we didn't know what would happen next. It was scary, oncologist Jana Gvozdeva told Russian media.

Since the patient's body was open, there was no thought of stopping the operation, she added. The patient survived and is in stable condition.