Why Small Tsunami Waves Still Triggers Mass Evacuations Across the Pacific

One of the ten largest earthquakes ever recorded just struck Kamchatka, the sparsely populated Russian peninsula facing the Pacific.

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The magnitude 8.8 quake had its epicentre in the sea just off the Kamchatka coast. Huge quakes such as these can cause devastating tsunamis. It's no surprise this quake has triggered mass evacuations in Russia, Japan and Hawaii. But despite the enormous strength of the quake, the waves expected from the resulting tsunami are projected to be remarkably small. Four metre-high waves have been reported in Russia. But the waves are projected to be far smaller elsewhere, ranging from 30 centimetres to 1 metre in China, and between | and 3 metres in parts of Japan, Hawaii and the Solomon Islands, as well as Ecuador and Chile on the other side of the Pacific. So why have authorities in Japan and parts of the United States announced evacuation orders For one thing, tsunami waves can suddenly escalate, and even the smaller tsunami waves can pack surprising force. But the main reason is that late evacuation orders can cause panic and chaos. It's far better to err on the side of caution. When tsunami monitoring centres issue early warnings about wav