‘Prepared for a long stay’: tsunami alert triggers mass evacuations across Pacific
People in Guam and Japan move to higher ground, while highways in Hawaii busy as residents leave for safe areas
In the Pacific territory of Guam, shortly before lunchtime on Tuesday, Sam Mabini's phone began to ping. A tsunami warning was issued after a powerful 8.8-magnitude quake struck a remote part of the Russian coast. Authorities put out the alert over concerns that destructive waves could slam the shoreline in the coming hours, urging people to move away from the coast. Mabini, a former Guam senator, took action.
I went to higher ground just in case," she said. Her family lives in the lower area of Tamuning and they moved to a more elevated part of the village. She joined other residents who evacuated to Agana Heights, a higher part of Hagatna, the capital of the US island, in the western Pacific ocean.
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