Just Some Tsunami News

•  "8.8 magnitude quake strikes off Russia’s Far East. Tsunami waves reach Japan, Hawaii and California"--AP. From the article:

    One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s sparsely populated Far East [the Kamchatka peninsula] early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. Several people were injured, but none gravely, and no major damage has been reported so far.

    Authorities warned the risk from the 8.8 magnitude quake could last for hours, and millions of people potentially in the path of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or seek high ground.

    The worst appeared to have passed for many areas, including the U.S., Japan and the affected parts of Russia. But Chile raised its tsunami warning to the highest level for most of its lengthy Pacific coast and said it was evacuating hundreds of people.   

 Space Weather News' morning video today mentioned that the it is often the points opposite a quake that receive the strongest tsunamis, which is why parts of South America may have a high risk. In any event, the AP article adds:

    The quake struck at 11:24 a.m. in Kamchatka with a magnitude of 8.8 and a depth of about 21 kilometers (13 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered offshore, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka’s regional capital.

    Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.

    Russia’s Oceanology Institute said tsunami waves might have been as high as 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 feet) in some sections of the Kamchatka coast — but the highest were less than 6 meters (20 feet) near the populated areas of the peninsula and the nearby Kuril islands.

    Meanwhile, lava began to flow Wednesday from a volcano on Kamchatka, the largest active one in the Northern Hemisphere. Observers also heard explosions, the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ geophysical service said.

• "Tsunami warnings fading after one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. Here’s what to know"--AP. 
• "Some facts about the strongest earthquakes ever recorded"--AP.  Brief facts about the strongest recorded earthquakes. Note that these are not necessarily the most powerful earthquakes in history, but those where equipment existed to measure the magnitude of the earthquake, which really makes them only the most powerful within the past 100 years or so.