Small impact to Hong Kong expected from tsunami caused by earthquake near Russia

A tsunami triggered by a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula could reach Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon, although the impact will be small, the Observatory has said.

The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region and triggered four-metre-high (13-foot) tsunami waves, while many areas along Japan’s eastern seaboard were ordered to evacuate.

“If the tsunami persists, it is expected to reach Hong Kong around 5pm [on Wednesday] and recur at intervals of five to 60 minutes,” the city’s weather forecaster said.

“It is expected to exceed the normal tide level by around 0.1 metre (4 inches) or less. The impact on Hong Kong will be small.”

Earlier in the day, HK Express diverted a Sendai-bound flight to Tokyo following the closure of Sendai Airport due to a tsunami warning.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning across a wide area of the Pacific coast on Wednesday morning and Sendai Airport in the Tohoku region subsequently closed its runway.