TOKYO (AP) — One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. No substantial damage has been reported so far, but authorities warned people away from shorelines and said the risk could last more than a day.

Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the 8.8 magnitude quake’s epicenter flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Hawaii’s capital, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline.

People went to evacuation centers in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan’s nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.

Russian authorities said several people were injured, without giving a figure. In Japan, at least one person was injured.

A tsunami height of 3-4 meters (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka, 60 centimeters (2 feet) on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, and up to 1.4 feet (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Hours after the quake, Hawaii downgraded its tsunami warning to an advisory, while Japan’s Meteorological Agency also lowered its alert to an advisory in the Pacific coast south of Fukushima. The alert still in place farther north.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan, the Adjutant General of the State of Hawaii Department of Defense, said an advisory means there is the potential for strong currents and dangerous waves, as well as flooding on beaches or in harbors.

Hawaii and Oregon warn residents of potential damage

The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska

“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he said. “It’s a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that’s where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.”

“In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they’re going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,” which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, which is between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet (1.8 meters). He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller and it was too early to tell how large they would be. A tsunami of that size would be akin to a 3-foot (90-centimeter) wave riding on top of surf, he said.

“This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land,” he said at a news conference.

Green said Black Hawk helicopters have been activated and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people. “But please do not put yourself in harm’s way,” he said.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast starting around 11:40 p.m. local time, with wave heights between 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters). It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.

“This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water,” the department said.

Much of the West Coast, spanning California, Washington state, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, was also under a tsunami advisory.

A tsunami of less than 30 centimeters (under 1 foot) was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The province’s emergency preparedness agency said waves were expected to reach remote Langara Island around 10:05 p.m. Tuesday and Tofino around 11:30 p.m. The agency said “multiple waves over time” were expected.

Russian regions report limited damage

The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japanese and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its strength to 8.8 magnitude and a depth of 20.7 kilometers (13 miles).

The quake was centered about 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.

Severokurilsk Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said the port in the city was flooded by tsunami waves, washing fishing boats into the sea. He said that no major damage was recorded.

Power supplies have been shut and the authorities were checking the power network after the flooding.

Among the world’s strongest recorded quakes

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.

The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected area suspending or delaying some operations.

A tsunami of 60 centimeters (2 feet) was recorded at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves including 20 centimeters (8 inches) in Tokyo Bay five hours after the quake.

In Japan’s northern coastal town of Matsushima, dozens of residents took refuge at an evacuation center, where water bottles were distributed and an air conditioner was running. One person told NHK she came to the facility without hesitation based on the lesson from the 2011 tsunami.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi warned evacuees that they may not be able to return home by the end of the day, as the tsunami waves could remain high.

Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant damaged by the 2011 tsunami said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure safety.

Philippine authorities advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal areas. “It may not be the largest of waves, but these can continue for hours and expose people swimming in the waters to danger,” Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.

Mexico’s navy warned that tsunami waves will start reaching the northern coast in Ensenada, near California, at around 02:22 a.m. Wednesday local time, and waves could progress along the Pacific coast to Chiapas state, around 07:15 a.m. local time.

New Zealand authorities warned of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” along all coastlines of the South Pacific island nation. The emergency management agency said people should move out of the water, off beaches and away from harbors, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

People were urged to stay away from coastlines until any wave surges passed late Wednesday in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands.

Some tiny and low-lying Pacific island chains are among the world’s most imperiled by tsunamis and rising seas due to climate change.

Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

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This story has corrected the wave height forecast in Oregon to between 1 and 2 feet, not 1 and 3 feet.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A heat advisory will be in effect from 11 AM to 8 PM on Wednesday.

Today:

Patchy fog is possible early this morning; otherwise, conditions will be clear, quiet, and very muggy.

Central Indiana will experience one more day of intense heat and humidity with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. High temperatures will reach the low to mid-90s, with heat indices ranging between 101 and 105 across Central and Southern Indiana, where a heat advisory is in place.

A few storms may develop in the northern third of the state by mid to late afternoon, but most of Central Indiana should remain dry during the daytime hours.

Storms move in tonight:

A cold front approaching the state later this evening will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms to areas along and north of Interstate 70.

Much of the state is under a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe storms, with damaging winds being the primary concern.

In addition to a few gusty storms, heavy rainfall and the potential for isolated flooding could occur overnight.

Big changes Thursday:

The cold front will move through the state during the first half of Thursday, bringing on-and-off showers and thunderstorms through lunchtime.

Following the front, expect mostly cloudy to partly cloudy conditions and a significant drop in temperatures. Highs will reach only the mid to upper 70s on Thursday afternoon.

Fantastic weekend:

Beautiful weather is expected for Friday and the weekend. Below-average temperatures, much lower humidity, and plenty of sunshine will make for a pleasant stretch as we head into the first weekend of August.

7 day forecast:

There are signs that the pattern will become more active and muggy early next week, with near-normal temperatures and daily rain chances on Monday and Tuesday.

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WISH) — Frankfort police on Monday chased an Indianapolis driver through Clinton County and finally caught him in a cornfield, the department said in a social media post issued Tuesday night.

David Gonzalez Reyes, 48, faces multiple charges including reckless driving, OWI, possession of methamphetamine, and resisting arrest, police say. Online court records did not show a case filed for him on Tuesday night.

A Clinton County EMS employee just after 6:40 p.m. Monday reported a reckless driver, and a Frankfort Police Department officer saw the suspected vehicle go through a red light. The officer gave chase, during which Gonzales Reyes hit at least one vehicle.

The chase along streets, through parking lots and into fields of crops involved multiple police agencies, and ended in a cornfield where drones and a perimeter of law enforcement were used to locate him.

The post said Gonzales Reyes was wanted on a warrant from Marion County for failing to appear in court for a previous charge of OWI.

He remained in the Clinton County jail on Tuesday night.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — NASCAR has suspended Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill for one race following his actions during Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As a result, the Richard Childress Racing driver will miss this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway.

Hill hit Aric Almirola’s right rear late in the race on Saturday, which turned Almirola into the wall entering turn four.

Almirola’s race ended as a result of the crash.

“It was definitely intentional,” Almirola said following the incident on The CW’s broadcast of the race. “He blocked me three times. I finally got him loose in (turn) three. He had damage on the nose, so he was really slow in the corners, and so it was time to go.”

Almirola added that it was one of the biggest hits of his career.

Hill was held for five laps in the pits due to “rough driving” following the incident.

Richard Childress Racing posted the following on social media Tuesday following the announcement of Hill’s suspension:

“Richard Childress Racing will not appeal the penalty NASCAR issued to the No. 21 team following the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We remain focused on winning a championship with Austin Hill in 2025.”

The post went on to say that Austin Dillon will race Hill’s No. 21 car at Iowa Speedway this weekend.

According to an article on NASCAR’s website regarding the suspension, “Hill’s absence from a regular-season race will require a waiver so that he may retain his eligibility for the Xfinity Series Playoffs. Under a rule established before the 2025 season, he will forfeit his total of 21 playoff points and be ineligible to collect more before the postseason begins.”

Connor Zilisch ended up winning this past Saturday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway will take place Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EDT. You can watch the race live on WISH-TV.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A mother and daughter were deemed heroes Tuesday after rushing to the aid of an officer shot three times in a police shooting at a west side apartment complex.

• IMPD: Officer, carjacking suspect shot in Indianapolis west side police shooting

The shooting stemmed from a carjacking at the intersection of West 16th and North Harding streets just after 2 p.m.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, an officer recognized the carjacked vehicle and followed it into an apartment complex off of Lafayette Road and West 16th Street to conduct a traffic stop.

Of the four suspects in the vehicle, one immediately fled the scene. As the officer was taking the driver into custody, two other passengers exited the car. One walked to the front of the vehicle and opened fire, hitting the officer at least three times. The officer returned gunfire, hitting the suspect at least once.

One neighbor, Tina Jordan, heard the officer call for help.

Even as gunfire filled the air, Jordan said she didn’t think twice; she and her daughter ran to help, possibly putting their lives at risk.

“We (saw) shots, we ran outside to assist the officer. We didn’t even think about the other person that was shooting. He said he needed help and we went outside to help him,” she said.

She and her daughter brought towels to help stop the bleeding. “We put the towels on his leg that was bleeding until another officer pulled up. We flagged him and he came and took over.”

IMPD says that action could have saved that officer’s life.

For other neighbors, Tuesday’s police shooting has left them feeling uneasy.

Jilletta Holifield lives in the apartment complex and witnessed the incident out her front window.

“It was just like pop, pop, pop, shooting everywhere, and then I looked out my window, because I had to hurry up and get off my call. I see people running, (and) next thing you know there’s a swarm of police.”

Holifield says they had another shooting not even a month ago.

“It’s making my nerves even (worse) because my children are right here, they can see it, and they’re out here, and they can hear it.”

The officer and injured suspect were taken to hospitals for treatment in stable and critical conditions, respectively.

Three of the four suspects, including the shooter, were in custody. The fourth suspect was still at large.

Anyone with information on the other suspect or about the shooting was asked to contact Sgt. Brian Lambert at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, on Tuesday called an Obama-era greenhouse gas rule politically motivated and not grounded in science.

Zeldin’s remarks came at an event at a heavy truck dealership on the east side of Indianapolis in which Trump and Braun administration officials celebrated the EPA beginning the process to eliminate a provision known as the endangerment finding. Adopted in 2009, the endangerment finding determined a mix of six greenhouse gases from tailpipe emissions threaten public health and contribute to climate change. The finding has underpinned emissions regulations for the past 16 years.

Zeldin said the finding vastly exceeded the EPA’s regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act. He accused his predecessors of making assumptions that weren’t true and relying on predictions that did not pan out.

“Do you really think that the EPA should be coming up with the many, many mental leaps that went into this endangerment finding that took a section of the Clean Air Act, (Section) 202 and put an extremely creative and unprecedented spin on it?” he said.

Zeldin said repealing the finding would eliminate a host of mandates, including those relating to electric vehicles as well as carbon credits given to auto companies for including start-stop technology in their cars. He said the move would bring down car prices associated with meeting those requirements and would help bring auto industry jobs back to America.

The EPA’s own statistics show the transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 28% of such emissions in 2022. Electricity generation and industry were close behind at 25% and 23%, respectively. Fifty-seven percent of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions come from light-duty vehicles such as passenger cars. According to the EPA, the average passenger car emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide in one year.

The American Lung Association in April ranked the Indianapolis metropolitan area 11th worst out of 208 metro areas for air quality. Zeldin said that data would not have affected the endangerment finding and existing regulations under the Clean Air Act would not be affected. Sam Carpenter, the executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Coalition, said he doesn’t believe that argument. He said the fact that the endangerment finding guided regulations on everything from auto emissions to power plants since 2009 means there is no way repealing it will not affect air and water quality. He said eliminating greenhouse gas regulations will end up costing consumers more in the long run.

“We need to stop pretending that climate change is not a problem,” he said. “People are seeing that their electricity costs are skyrocketing. That is because of extreme heat and it’s because of the need for additional energy and infrastructure that’s needed for that. Those energy prices are going to continue to go up.”

Carpenter said the combined cost of climate change and the loss of billions of dollars’ worth of investments in clean energy jobs means the economic cost of the rule change would outweigh any benefits.

Zeldin said the rule will be finalized after a 45-day public comment period. Carpenter said lawsuits to keep the finding in place are likely.

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones was carted off with a hamstring injury during practice on Tuesday.

It was a non-contact injury.

Jones was competing for a starting cornerback spot, along with Indianapolis native JuJu Brents and rookie Justin Walley. Brents did not practice on Tuesday, as he is dealing with a hamstring injury.

Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo discussed how the injuries affect the competition for the starting role.

“Hopefully, guys will bounce back and be ready to jump back into it,” Anarumo said. “The more we see, the more we do, we have a better feel for things. Ultimately, a guy, if they were even, would never lose a job because of that (injury). But it’s just a part of the game, unfortunately.”

Other Colts dealing with injuries include wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (groin), cornerback David Long (groin), linebacker Cameron McGrone (quad), and running back Salvon Ahmed (back).

More Colts coverage

Colts, LT Bernhard Raimann agree to contract extension

Colts’ Michael Pittman Jr. puts Tyler Warren through off-field ‘test’

Good day for Colts quarterbacks in first full pads practice at training camp

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Colts quarterbacks Anthony Richardson Sr. and Daniel Jones are starting to string together good days at training camp.

The two quarterbacks are in an open competition for the starting job for the Colts.

That competition has helped Richardson and Jones push each other to improve.

“It helps both of us limit the mistakes that we make because we know what’s on the line,” Richardson said. “It just helps us be able to make plays and just showcase what we can do as quarterbacks for this team.”

“I think it’s been great,” Jones said. “Obviously we’re both competitors and when we’re out here, we’re trying to put our best foot forward as quarterbacks and play well. The communication in the meeting room or whatever it is off the field has been great and I think I’ve learned a lot from him.”

Richardson doesn’t think it’s only helped him. He added that he thinks the competition helps the whole team.

Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has been impressed with Richardson’s implementation of his offseason training.

“You can see the work that he has put in in the offseason,” Cooter said. “Anthony is diligent about his offseason work habits, and when you’ve been in the league a few years, you start figuring out areas to work on over your offseason.”

“I feel like I have been slightly more consistent when it comes to my footwork, but it’s just me thinking about my reps that I’ve been doing during the offseason, and just thinking about mental cues for myself,” Richardson said.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen has remained consistent, saying there is no timetable for a decision on who will be the Week 1 starter.

The Colts are just nine days away from their first preseason game, in Baltimore against the Ravens.

More Colts coverage

Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones carted off with injury during practice

Colts, LT Bernhard Raimann agree to contract extension

Colts’ Michael Pittman Jr. puts Tyler Warren through off-field ‘test’

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — Deputies in Johnson County arrested an underage drunk driver they say was caught driving 140 mph on the interstate in Greenwood.

Cohen Frederick, 20, faces several charges, including operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, reckless driving at an unreasonable speed, resisting law enforcement, and consuming alcohol as a minor.

The arrest happened late Wednesday night near Smith Valley Road and Interstate 69.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy on traffic control duty clocked Frederick going 140 mph in a 65 mph zone on I-69 northbound. He was also spotted swerving between vehicles.

The deputy activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop but Frederick continued speeding on the highway at varying rates of speed. Frederick also sped off after the deputy pulled up right behind him.

Frederick eventually pulled over on the shoulder of I-69 just north of County Line Road, less than three miles from where the pursuit began.

The deputy spoke with Frederick and his passenger, 20-year-old Joseph Fisher, and soon noticed the smell of alcohol on Frederick’s breath. After failing the field sobriety tests, Cohen took a breathalyzer test which registered his blood alcohol content as .108.

Frederick submitted to a blood draw at a nearby hospital and was then taken into custody. He was booked into the Johnson County jail, but jail records show he bonded out on Wednesday.

Fisher also took a breathalyzer test, his blood alcohol content registering as .04.

The deputy did not arrest Fisher, but requested the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office to review the case as he is underaged.