After a tense day of waiting for a potential tsunami from a massive earthquake 2,800 miles away, residents of Guam and the Northern Marianas got the all-clear Wednesday evening.
"Based on all available data there is no further tsunami threat to Guam, Rota, Tinian, or Saipan from the earthquake although minor sea level fluctuations may continue," the Guam Civil Defense/Office of Homeland Security stated in a 6:40 p.m. news release.
More than nine hours earier, at 9:40 a.m., an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 was recorded southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
Later, the quake would be upgraded to 8.8 magnitude, one of the strongest on record. It triggered tsunami alerts throughout the Pacific, from Japan to the United States, according to the BBC.
On Guam and the CNMI, warnings were issued for people to stay out of the water and away from beaches. Some government offices and businesses in low-lying areas closed early so people could move to higher ground.
By early afternoon, few vehicles were on the streets and many buildings were shuttered along Marine Corps Drive in Hagåtña and Anigua.
Waves up to a foot were observed in Guam’s tide gauges, with similar wave heights continuing, but expected to gradually diminish throughout the evening, according to Civil Defense.
A high risk of rip currents remained in effect.
