Oprah Winfrey has responded after viral social media posts claimed she kept her private road closed off despite tsunami warnings in Hawaii, with other roads gridlocked with people fleeing the coast to reach higher ground.

In a statement shared with Newsweek , a spokesperson for Winfrey said: "As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA to ensure the road was opened. Any reports otherwise are false."

Why It Matters

On Wednesday morning, a powerful 8.8-magnitude undersea earthquake off Russia's eastern coast t riggered tsunami alerts.

The U.S., Japan, China and the Philippines are now all bracing for tsunamis, with the first waves hitting Hawaii, the Kuril Islands and the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Tsunami warnings currently cover all ei

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