The Maldives Meteorological Service (Met Office) has confirmed that the massive earthquake that struck off Russia’s far eastern coast on Wednesday will not affect the Maldives.
The 8.7-magnitude quake hit about 126 kilometres (78 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula at a depth of 18 kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey. The tremor generated tsunami waves of three to four metres in parts of Kamchatka, Russian authorities said.
The Met Office in Malé stated there was no risk of tsunami waves or other impacts reaching the Maldives as a result of the earthquake.
The quake triggered tsunami warnings across Russia, Japan and parts of the United States. Authorities in Japan ordered 1.9 million people to evacuate, and a 1.3-metre (4.3-foot) tsunami wave was recorded in the country’s northern Iwate prefecture. In Russia, damages were reported, but no injuries were reported, according to regional officials.
Tsunami alerts were also issued in Hawaii, the US west coast, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Guam, Peru and the Galápagos Islands off Ecuador.
Maldives authorities said they would continue to monitor the situation but emphasised there was no cause for concern locally.