Russia,Philippines clear out coastal towns

Russia evacuated 11,000 people from four Pacific islands.

Russian authorities on Friday evacuated some 11,000 residents from Pacific islands in anticipation of tsunami waves unleashed by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast.

The regional emergency officials said that the tsunami could hit several coastal towns and villages on four Pacific islands,which the Soviet Union seized from Japan in the final days of World War II. The islands lie as close as 10 kilometres to Japan’s Hokkaido island.

The first tsunami wave was 1 foot,8 inches when it reached the village of Malo-Kurilks,the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said. There were no immediate reports of damage.

Authorities on the Kamchatka Peninsula further north said the tsunami posed no danger to the area.

Kamchatka,which juts into the Pacific,is studded with active volcanoes,some of which were spewing gases to a height of up to 5,800 metres Friday,prompting authorities to issue warning to planes in the area. Kamchatka volcanoes are part of the Ring of Fire” string of volcanoes encircling the Pacific.

Philippine officials are also ordering an evacuation of coastal communities along the country’s eastern seaboard in expectation of a tsunami following a 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan.

Philippine Volcanology and Seismology Institute director Renato Solidum says the first 1-metre high waves are expected to hit the northernmost Batanes islands by 5 pm (09:00 GMT) Friday.

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Disaster management officials in Albay province southeast of Manila say they have ordered residents to move to designated evacuation sites that are at least 5 metres above sea level.