Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng at the press briefing in Hà Nội on July 31. — VNS Photo Trọng Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese citizens in the areas affected by strong earthquakes and tsunamis in the far eastern region of Russia, the United States and Japan remain safe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.

The 8.5-magnitude earthquake that occurred in the area of Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian Federation, has triggered tsunami warnings along the coast of the Pacific Ocean of Japan, Hawaii and a number of areas in Alaska, the US, according to the information from Vietnamese representative missions in Russia, Japan and the US.

Spokesperson for the foreign ministry Phạm Thu Hằng told the press that immediately after receiving the information, Vietnamese representative missions in Russia, Japan and the US has been proactively contacting the contact points of local Vietnamese communities to review the situation of Vietnamese nationals in these areas, and issued recommendations for Vietnamese nationals to immediately move to safer areas and to regularly monitor the situation, while also complying with warnings and safety measures of local authorities.

Hằng said: "Under the instruction of the foreign ministry, representative missions in these countries are maintaining responsive measures in emergencies.

"Until the tsunami warnings were lifted, we continued to monitor the situation and keep safety measures in place, and complying with those enacted by local authorities when it comes to tsunami, and maintaining close contacts with the contact points of the local Vietnamese communities to provide timely warnings and recommendations to prevent and avert these disasters, while also supporting citizens when necessary." — VNS