Why the giant earthquake triggered such a weak tsunami in the Pacific
The massive underwater earthquake that occurred Tuesday night off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka province could have triggered a devastating tsunami. But the international press is seeking explanations, but the fear is greater than the actual damage.
With a magnitude of 8.8, the underwater earthquake that occurred on the night of Tuesday 29 to Wednesday 30 July off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East is one of the most powerful ever recorded in 125 years.
“Despite its remote location, the earthquake's intensity immediately posed a potential tsunami hazard to much of the globe, including Japan, Canada, and the United States. Millions of people, and the entire U.S. West Coast, received warnings ,” the Los Angeles Times reported . But as Wednesday progressed, tsunami warnings and evacuation orders in most Pacific Rim countries were gradually lifted or downgraded.
And newspapers around the world, like Pagina 12 in Argentina , which headlined this Thursday, July 31 “The wave that never came” found that the Pacific region had escaped the worst: a devastating tsunami.
“In the end, the tsunami that hit Tofino, British Columbia [western Canada], was no higher than half a school ruler, which slightly increased the tidal effect and provided a spectacle for the 300 tourists still on Mackenzie Beach just before midnight Tuesday night.”
Courrier International
