The Most Powerful Quakes Are in the Ring of Fire

By Anna Fleck – Statista

Tsunami warnings have now been lifted across much of the Pacific following a major earthquake, which took place at 11:25 am local time on Wednesday, striking off the coast of Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The quake was one of the top ten most powerful earthquakes recorded since 1900, with a magnitude of 8.8.

More than 1.9 million people in Japan had been ordered to evacuate, while tsunami warnings were issued across the Pacific, including in Russia, Hawaii, Alaska and the west coast of the United States. However, the tsunami damage was less severe than first feared, with waves measuring 5.7 feet (1.7m) in Hawaii’s Kahului in Maui, as California saw highs of 3.6 feet (1.1m) in Crescent City. Residents of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia were told on Wednesday that they could return to their homes after tsunami waves of 4.9 feet (1.5m) hit, which was lower than the earlier forecasts of up to 13 feet (4m).