Video: How Russia Earthquake Could Impact Distant Shores Like New Zealand

An 8.8 magnitude undersea earthquake near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula sent tremors across the Pacific early Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings from Japan and Hawaii to the US West Coast. Waves up to 4 metres (13 feet) struck parts of Russia's coastline, setting off urgent evacuations and activating alert systems across continents.

In Japan, over 9 lakh people in 130 coastal towns were told to evacuate. While forecasts warned of higher waves, surges in Hokkaido and Ishinomaki remained around 30-40 cm, with some areas like Kuji Port and Hamanaka now seeing waves as high as 60 cm.

The seismic event near Russia managed to affect coastlines thousands of kilometres away in regions like New Zealand, California, and South America. This chain reaction was explained in a simulation conducted by Tohoku University in Japan. The animation uses Japan as the epicentre to show how waves travel after a quake. 

This simulation conducted by Tohoku University shows how the tsunami propagates across the Earth's oceans

Japan used as an example of Earthquake and Tsunami epicenter

This gives you a good indication on how long before it reaches California as well as South America… pic.twitter.com/J0JFX1PCQa

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How Tsunamis Travel The Globe

When a powerful undersea earthquake strikes, it displaces vast volumes of seawater, generating waves that move across entire ocean basins. These waves aren't like surface ripples in a pond. They carry immense energy and can travel at speeds up to 800 kmph in deep water, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The higher the magnitude of the earthquake, as seen in the Kamchatka event, the more energy is released, resulting in waves that can travel farther and cause more alerts.

In the case of Kamchatka, the quake caused 4-metre waves along parts of Russia's coast. Tsunami warnings and evacuation advisories were also issued across over 130 coastal towns in Japan, affecting lakhs of residents.

Forecasts of 3-metre waves in Japan, though actual wave heights were closer to 30-40 cm in places like Hokkaido and Ishinomaki.

Why Places Like New Zealand And California Are Still At Risk

Although New Zealand is located over 16,000 km southeast of Russia, it is still vulnerable. That's because the Pacific Ocean connects these distant regions through unobstructed water paths, allowing tsunami waves to travel long distances with minimal energy loss.

As the simulation shows, if an earthquake occurs in the northwest Pacific (example - Russia or Japan), tsunami waves can reach Japan within minutes, take 10-12 hours to reach Hawaii, arrive in California or South America in around 24 hours and impact New Zealand depending on wave direction and seabed topography.