‘Jumped out of a window’: Many in need of medical aid after Russia’s massive 8.8 earthquake

Following a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday (Jul 30), prompting tsunami warnings in Russia, Japan, and the US. Regional health minister Oleg Melnikov said that several people sought medical assistance following the quake. He added that some people were hurt while running outside, while a woman was injured in the new airport terminal. Several people were injured in the remote Russian region.

“Unfortunately, there are some people injured during the seismic event. Some were hurt while running outside, and one patient jumped out of a window. A woman was also injured inside the new airport terminal,” Melnikov was quoted as saying by the state TASS news agency. He added that all patients are currently in satisfactory condition and no serious injuries have been reported so far.

The earthquake has forced tsunami warnings in several countries, including the US, Japan, Mexico, and Ecuador. According to the US Tsunami Warning Centers, waves higher than three metres above the tide level were expected along some coasts of Ecuador, the northwestern Hawaiian islands and Russia. While on the coasts of Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Japan and other islands and island groups in the Pacific, waves from one to three metres were possible, it added.

Meanwhile, authorities in New Zealand have warned of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” along its coasts following the earthquake.

The tsunami has already hit Russia’s far east coast, flooding parts of the port town of Severo-Kurilsk. The residents have been evacuated, the Russian authorities said.

At least six aftershocks have been recorded following the massive quake, including one of 6.9 magnitude and another of 6.3 magnitude.

The recent earthquake was the strongest since 1952 in Russia’s Kamchatka region, according to the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. That year, a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the same region, resulting in a Pacific-wide tsunami, as per the USGS.