Aussie actress told to ‘bunker down’ in Hawaii as tsunami warning rings out after enormous undersea earthquake

The Australian actress, 31, was holidaying in the US state with her mum when one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck the region near Russia, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast.

Charlotte was ‘given provisions’ and told to ‘bunker down’ in the hotel as strong winds whipped across the city.

She shared a photo to Instagram of the tsunami warnings after going snorkelling with her mum earlier in the day.

‘Police cleared the beach. Hotel tied the trees down,’ she revealed as she posted a video from her hotel room.

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‘This was a little chaotic but the hotel was amazing. Got given provisions and told to bunker down,’ she explained.

Charlotte then shared a photo of the dark clouds and wild winds that swept across the city.

Hours later, she posted a video of the sun shining and wrote: ‘So relieved for Hawaii. The kindest people.’

Evacuations were ordered in Hawaii, Japan, Russia, Colombia and parts of the US west coast after the quake hit near Russia’s eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, casting out 15ft waves across the Pacific.

Wednesday’s quake has already triggered at least 10 aftershocks above magnitude five, and they could continue for months, said Caroline Orchiston, director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

In Hawaii, panicked tourists took to social media to share their desperation as cruise ships appeared to hastily depart without passengers.

One TikTok user, @demifreeman, posted a video of people frantically running down a port towards their ship on the social media site. The clip said: ‘POV: tsunami in Hawaii and your cruise is leaving without people.’

‘Actually insane,’ the passenger said in the caption, adding: ‘We are going to be in the middle of the tsunami in the ocean.’

The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves exceeding three metres above the tide level were possible along some coasts of northwestern Hawaiian islands.

Waves of around 1.7m (5.5ft) reached as far as Hawaii, less high than originally expected, but scientists warned that such waves do not have to be especially big to do damage to the relatively low-lying coastlines of Pacific island nations.

Tsunami sirens blared near Hawaii’s popular Waikiki surf beach where traffic was gridlocked as Hawaiians escaped to higher ground.

Governor Josh Green said flights in and out of the island of Maui had been cancelled as a precaution, before authorities cancelled a coastal evacuation order.

Officials in Hawaii later said residents who had evacuated could return to their homes.