Finland's foreign ministry has sent advisory text messages to hundreds of Finns known to be in areas affected by tsunami warnings after a powerful earthquake struck Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, the ministry told news agency STT on Wednesday.
Messages were sent to Finnish citizens who have notified authorities about trips to Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand and small Pacific islands, including Vanuatu.
The earthquake that struck the Pacific Ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia is among the strongest ever recorded, with a magnitude of 8.8.
The communication urged travellers to follow instructions from local authorities and to follow the situation on local media.
The ministry advised the citizens to avoid coastal and river areas, as well as to inform friends and family about their situation.
The ministry stated that the travel notifications it had received by Wednesday indicate there were hundreds of Finnish travellers in areas that could potentially be affected by the tsunami.
Not all travellers file travel notifications with authorities before unexpected crisis situations occur, which means that the number of travel notifications may increase, according to the ministry.
According to the ministry, a total of 360 Finnish citizens filed notifications about travel to Japan, and 10 people said they were going to Hawaii, as of Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, around 100 notifications were filed about travel to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
In 2004, 179 Finnish citizens died in Thailand in a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean that claimed the lives of thousands of others.
Finland's diplomatic missions are monitoring the situation, the ministry said, advising Finnish citizens in areas at risk from the tsunami to contact its emergency contact number at +358 9 1605 5555.
