Tsunami aftermath: Visuals show port town in Russia severely damaged | VIDEO

Moscow: The aerial visuals from Severo-Kurilsk, a small port town in Russia’s Far East, have revealed the first reported destruction caused by a tsunami that followed a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake early Wednesday. The images show significant flooding and severe damage to port infrastructure, with roads submerged and waterfront facilities visibly wrecked.

The tsunami, triggered by the undersea quake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, struck coastal regions of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed that the tsunami inundated parts of Severo-Kurilsk and that residents had been evacuated to higher ground.

In Japan, tsunami waves of up to 50 centimetres (1.6 feet) were recorded in Ishinomaki, while at least 16 locations along the Pacific coast, from Hokkaido to areas northeast of Tokyo, reported wave heights of 30 to 40 centimetres. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency issued evacuation advisories to more than 900,000 residents across 133 municipalities. So far, no injuries or significant damage have been reported in Japan.

The U.S. Geological Survey revised the magnitude of the quake from 8.0 to 8.8, making it the strongest globally since the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. That disaster, with a magnitude of 9.0, triggered one of the worst nuclear crises in history.

Tsunami warnings were also issued for Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of the Pacific, including Chile, Ecuador, and New Zealand. In Mexico, the Navy warned that waves of 30 to 100 centimeters could reach the Pacific coast, starting near Ensenada and moving south toward Chiapas by Wednesday morning.