Urgent Foreign Office alert for Brits travelling to 17 countries post major earthquake

The Foreign Office has issued an urgent warning for 17 countries, urging travellers to heed local authority advice. A colossal earthquake, registering at a staggering 8.8 magnitude, has rocked Russia's far east, triggering tsunami waves across Japan and Alaska and setting off alerts as far afield as Hawaii, North and Central America, and Pacific islands down to New Zealand.

In their latest statement, the Foreign Office announced: "An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.7 has struck the eastern coast of Russia in the Kamchatka Peninsula region. A tsunami threat message has been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

"If you are in the affected areas potentially affected by the earthquake or tsunami you should follow the advice of the local authorities." The warning extends to those currently in or travelling to the Philippines, Canada, Taiwan, China, Tonga, New Zealand, Russia, Ecuador, Solomon Islands, Japan, Samoa, USA, Peru, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Costa Rica, and Chile, reports the Liverpool Echo.

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Ports on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula were swamped by the sea as locals scrambled to higher ground following a powerful earthquake, while in northern Japan, white waves crested and rolled onto the shore. In Honolulu, vehicles clogged the streets and highways, creating gridlock even in districts not directly on the coast.

Warnings to seek higher ground echoed across much of the Pacific, with authorities cautioning that the threat could persist for over 24 hours. Despite the arrival of tsunami waves in various locations, reports of significant damage have been minimal thus far.

A formidable tsunami measuring between 10-13ft hit Kamchatka, while Japan's Hokkaido island saw a 2ft surge, and Alaska's Aleutian Islands experienced waves reaching 1.4 feet above normal tide levels. Dave Snider, the tsunami warning coordinator at the National Tsunami Warning Centre in Alaska, stressed that the tsunami's effects could extend for many hours or even beyond a day.

"A tsunami is not just one wave," he explained. "It's a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour – as fast as a jet aeroplane – in deep water.

"But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that's where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there."

He further noted, "In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they're going to be moving back and forth for quite a while," which means some areas might experience the impact for an extended period. Hawaii's governor Josh Green has reported that data from Midway Atoll, situated between Japan and Hawaii, recorded waves with a height of 6ft from peak to trough.

He mentioned that the waves reaching Hawaii could vary in size and it's too soon to predict their magnitude. A tsunami of this nature would resemble a 3ft wave atop regular surf, he explained.

"This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land," he stated during a press briefing. Governor Green announced that Black Hawk helicopters have been deployed and high-water vehicles are on standby for potential rescue operations. "But please do not put yourself in harm's way," he urged.

The earthquake, which struck at 8.25am Japan time (12.25am BST), was initially measured at a magnitude of 8.0 by both Japanese and American seismologists. The US Geological Survey later revised its intensity to a magnitude of 8.8 and noted that the quake occurred at a depth of 13 miles.

The epicentre was located approximately 74 miles east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a Russian city with 180,000 inhabitants on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Several aftershocks, some as powerful as magnitude 6.9, ensued. The initial tsunami wave made landfall in Severo-Kurilsk, the principal locality on Russia's Kuril Islands in the Pacific, confirmed local governor Valery Limarenko.

He assured that residents were safe and had moved to higher ground to avoid the risk of subsequent waves. Approximately 2,700 individuals were moved to secure locations on the Kuril Islands.

Buildings suffered damage and vehicles rocked in the streets of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Russian news outlets, citing the regional Health Ministry, reported that a number of people sought medical assistance in Kamchatka following the earthquake, but no serious injuries were noted.

This earthquake is believed to be the most powerful globally since the 9.0 magnitude quake off north-eastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a colossal tsunami and subsequent nuclear power plant meltdowns. Only a handful of stronger earthquakes have ever been recorded worldwide.

The tsunami warning caused transport disruptions in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected region either suspending or delaying operations. A 2ft tsunami was registered at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, as per the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Several areas reported smaller waves, including an 8in wave in Tokyo Bay five hours post-quake. In Matsushima, a northern coastal town in Japan, scores of residents sought shelter at an evacuation centre, where water bottles were handed out and air conditioning was provided.

One individual told NHK that she didn't hesitate to head to the facility, having learned from the 2011 tsunami. No irregularities have been reported at Japanese nuclear power stations.

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was damaged in the 2011 tsunami, stated that approximately 4,000 workers are seeking refuge on higher ground within the plant complex, whilst remotely ensuring the safety of the plant.