According to the National Weather Service, the 8.7-magnitute earthquake reported off the east coast of Kamchatka—one of the strongest ever recorded—threatened a tsunami that could, per a July 29 news release from Maui County, “cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the state.”
“Urgent actions should be taken,” the release continued, “to protect lives and property.”
Thankfully, by the morning of July 30, the county lifted tsunami evacuation orders and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem assured residents that worst was over.
“We have downgraded the tsunami threat that was established for Hawaii and some of the regions impacting Alaska, but we still have a warning out for the West Coast,” she told reporters in Chile, per NBC News, adding that the threat of a major tsunami has passed.
