Sam, from Birmingham, spoke of spending a day in the hills to keep safe as around two million people were ordered to evacuate in Hawaii, Japan and Russia
(Image: SCU)
A Birmingham holidaymaker said tourists ‘hid high up in the hills’ after a tsunami warning sounded at their hotel.
Sam, from the city, was in Hawaii when a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia triggered warnings across the Pacific today, Wednesday, July 30.
The earthquake, believed to be one of the most powerful ever recorded, hit near the Kamchatka Peninsula at around 11.25am.
READ MORE: Cruise ship tourists say ‘everyone was running’ amid tsunami warning after 8.8 magnitude earthquake
Around two million people were ordered to evacuate in Japan, Russia and Hawaii – but some warnings were later downgraded. Alerts were also issued in China, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand and even as far as Peru and Mexico.
Sam, whose surname was not known, described the holiday as an “adventure” as he opened up to BBC Five Live reporter Nicky Campbell.
Having just returned to his hotel after a “day in the hills”, he said: “It’s been an adventure, not the holiday I was excepting to have in Hawaii.
“About 3, we got the initial alarm to say that there was a tsunami coming and I think a lot of people were unsure whether to take the seriously or not so I think I was just lying on the beach at the time.
“So I went into speak to the reception and they said we didn’t need to do anything so I went to my hotel room and just kind of watched the Weather Channel and just decided, you know what, the best bet is just to go get myself high and dry.
Rachael Burrows described the scenes in Hawaii as individuals rushed to evacuate, with the Brit claiming some tourists were ‘left behind’ by her cruise ship(Image: AP photo/Michelle Bir)
“So I went up to the evacuation point which is where I spent a lot of the time and then about half an hour before we did expect the tsunami to come we went to further high ground onto a golf course and luckily there were no surprises.
“There was a big group of us there watching the sea and none of us could see anything happening.
“As the day went on, we were just watching the sunset and then eventually it got dark and some people started to make their way back to the hotel, but I was about unsure about the situation so I stayed where I was.
“I was waiting to hear that all clear.” After heading back to the initial observation point, he was told the governor was about to announce the ‘all clear’, at which point he went back to his hotel.