A POWERFUL earthquake struck Russia’s remote Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, sending tsunami waves across the Pacific but causing little reported loss of life or damage.
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 8.8 and said it was shallow, about 19 kilometers deep. The epicenter lay roughly 119 kilometers east‑southeast of the regional capital Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatsky.
Scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences said it was the strongest earthquake to hit Kamchatka since 1952. Residents reported shaking that lasted several minutes; one man in Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatsky said he fled his building when it “felt like the walls could collapse.”
A kindergarten was damaged but most structures survived and officials reported no serious injuries or fatalities. Several people sought medical assistance, according to the regional health minister.
Tsunami alerts
The earthquake triggered a series of tsunami alerts. Russia’s emergency ministry said waves up to five meters swept into Severo‑Kurilsk, flooding parts of the port and fish processing plant and knocking vessels from their moorings.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said “hazardous tsunami waves” were possible along coasts from Russia to South America, and authorities across Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the US West Coast ordered evacuations.
In Japan, three waves were recorded, the largest at 1.3 meters (4.3 feet), but officials reported no injuries or nuclear‑plant irregularities.
Hawaii’s civil defense told residents to head to high ground or upper floors as waves up to 1.2 m reached the islands.
The quake rippled across the wider Pacific. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported a 40‑centimeter tsunami in Tokachi on Hokkaido.
Philippine authorities warned that waves of less than a meter could expose swimmers to danger and urged coastal residents to stay away from beaches. New Zealand’s emergency management agency cautioned of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” and advised people to keep out of the water.
Kamchatka’s governor called the quake the most serious in decades and said evacuations were under way. Regional officials said power lines were damaged and boats left ports to avoid being smashed by waves.
Scientists recorded aftershocks as strong as magnitude 6.9 and warned they could continue for weeks.
The Kamchatka Peninsula sits on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire.” Danila Chebrov, head of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service, said the shock’s epicenter reduced shaking at the surface, meaning “the situation is under control” despite the quake’s strength. / FROM THE WIRES