Tsunami waves lash Hawaii after Russia east coast quake – DW – 07/30/2025
Tsunami waves have hit the US state of Hawaiiafter a warning was issued. An anchor for local Hawaii broadcaster KHON2 posted footage of the waves.
Ports in Hawaii have closed, with residents asked to move to the high ground. Hawaiians are being urged to move to the fourth floor or higher of buildings as the waves come.
"People should not, and I will say it one more time, should not, as we have seen in the past, stay around the shoreline or risk their lives just to see what a tsunami looks like," Hawaii Governor Josh Green said. "It is not a regular wave. It will actually kill if you get hit by a tsunami."
Green later said that there had been no signs of significant waves in Hawaii after beginning tsunami preparations.
Kahului Airport, which is located on HawaiI's largest island of Maui, has cancelled flights due to the tsunami risk.
The first tsunami waves from the earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula made landfall in the Russian-administered Kuril Islands and Japan's large northern island of Hokkaido.
Russian local governor Valery Limarenko said the first tsunami wave had struck the coast of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Pacific archipelago.
Russian authorities said the town's population of around 2,000 people was evacuated and residents have been urged to remain on high ground until the threat of repeat waves has passed.
Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA), meanwhile, said a tsunami as high as 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) had been detected in 16 locations as the waves moved south along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido to just northeast of Tokyo.
Authorities have cautioned that bigger waves could come later, with the JMA saying that a major tsunami could be expected for more than a day after Wednesday's earthquake.
Tsunami warnings have been put out throughout the Pacific due to the earthquake, from Japan in the east to the western US and countries in South America, such as Colombia and Peru.
A magnitude 8.8. earthquake off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific.
This blog will bring you the latest news about the earthquake and tsunami, along with DW-on-the-ground reporting from affected regions and multimedia content. We will also delve deeper into the science of how tsunamis are developed.
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DW
31-07-2025
- DW
Fact check: Tsunami fakes and Oprah road rumor debunked – DW – 07/30/2025
An earthquake in the Pacific triggered tsunami waves across the US, Japan, and Russia — and a flood of misinformation online. DW separates fact from fiction. A powerful earthquake off Russia's east coast has prompted evacuations across the Pacific, from Japan to Peru, and caused tsunami waves in Russia, Japan, and Hawaii. Among the footage circulating online, misinformation is also spreading fast. DW Fact check has seen false information ranging from shared out of context to AI-generated fakes and entirely fabricated claims about the situation on the ground. The American talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey, who lives part time in Maui, Hawaii, has been the target of harsh criticism. She owns a property there and the private road running up to it has sparked debate: Claim: "In Maui, Hawaii people are moving to higher ground. Oprah Winfrey has refused to let people use her private road," a user claims on X. DW Fact check: Misleading At the time the post was published on X, the road in question was already open to traffic, as the Maui Police Department clarified in a statement: "Oprah's road is open to get Upcountry." A spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey reacted to the claims in a statement shared with Newsweek: "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." Nevertheless, the claim that Oprah Winfrey would block her street to public traffic even in the face of the approaching tsunami persisted. On X in particular, posts to this effect reached millions of people, and the narrative also spread on Threads and TikTok. People reacted with anger to these posts. Some users posted videos showing that the road is open to traffic. This, as well as confirmation by the Maui police, undermine claims that Oprah Winfrey is blocking public use of her road to higher areas of the island of Maui, showing such posts to be misleading. As with previous breaking news events, much of the content being shared is older footage which is falsely labeled to suggest it shows the aftermath of the recent magnitude-8.8 quake. One of the most viral videos shows a couple in a rooftop swimming pool fleeing as heavy tremors begin. Claim: "What it's like at the rooftop swimming pool of a high-rise building during an M7.7 earthquake," says the post on X, which has 4.8 million views at the time of writing. DW Fact check: False While the footage is real and does show an earthquake's impact, it is not from the recent quake in eastern Russia. The video was filmed at a hotel in Bangkok on March 28, 2025, during a magnitude-7.7 earthquake centered in central Myanmar. Tremors were felt in Thailand and southwestern China. The clip can be verified via reverse image search and appears in media reportsfrom that time. Back then, a lot of fake content was shared, allegedly showing the aftermath and impact of the earthquake. DW Fact check found at the time that some of this information was false. Another post on Xclaims to show the "insane tsunami footage out of Russia." However, a reverse image search traces it back to a four-year-old video showing the impact of tsunami waves in Greenland. The original clip can be found in media reportsof the time. Back then, a massive landslide triggered a tsunami wave that caught local fishermen by surprise. A third video, also circulating on X, allegedly shows tsunami waves hitting land. But this clip was first posted in 2017and shows waves striking Durban North Beach in South Africa. It has been mislabeled in the past, including in 2023when it was posted along with the false claim it showed a tsunami following the Turkey-Syria earthquake. A viral postwith 6.4 million views on X shows screenshots from a TBS News DIG report about stranded whales on a Japanese beach. The post speculates that they may have been stranded by the tsunami. Claim: "In Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, a whale is flipping over for unknown reasons, possibly due to the impact of a tsunami," says the post. DW Fact check: UnknownA reverse image search confirms the footage is from a TBS News report. Agency photos from The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP, via picture alliance verify that whales were indeed stranded. However, according to Chiba prefectural police, the whales had been beached the day before the tsunami and the events are believed to be unrelated. A report by The Asahi Shimbunquotes expert Tajima Yuko from the National Museum of Nature and Science, who notes that if unusual underground sounds occurred before the quake, their effects on whales remain unknown. The article also quotes Mika Kuroda from the NPO Stranding Network Hokkaido who says there is no factual basis for suggestions that stranded whales are precursors for earthquakes, not least because dolphins or whales are stranded every day in Japan. Artificial intelligence also contribute to the wave of disinformation. Several viral posts about a tsunami alert in California following an earthquake in Russia circulate misleading visuals. One of such viral images can be seen in a post on X stating: "Balboa is gone." It refers to Balboa Island, a waterfront neighborhood in Newport Beach, California, connected to the mainland by a bridge, ferry, and multiple public docks. The image shows rows of submerged buildings that are almost entirely underwater, with only their roofs and top floors visible. In the background, a bridge can be seen above the waterline. DW Fact check: Fake This is an AI-generated image. While a tsunami watch was issued for parts of California, the projected impact was expected several hours after this image was posted. At the time of posting, there were no official evacuation orders in San Francisco. Moreover, the image contains visual inconsistencies. Despite the water appearing to engulf buildings, the foot of the bridge in the background is entirely visible, suggesting water levels are not consistent across the image. The original post garnered over 95.2K views. DW Fact check also tested this image on AI-detecting tools like AIorNot and Hive Moderation, both of which identified it as 99% AI-generated. Another misleading videocirculating online claims to show real-time impact of the tsunami: "BREAKING — Tsunami footage from the Russian Earthquake is starting to roll in," says a post on X. One of the videos shows people lying on a beach as a large wave approaches and crashes over the sand. In the subsequent clip, a similar wave is shown engulfing the shore. DW Fact check: Fake This video is also AI-generated. None of the people in the footage visibly react to the incoming wave, even as it approaches and washes over them. The wave formation itself is also inconsistent with natural behavior, emerging out of nowhere without any visible buildup.
DW
30-07-2025
- DW
Fact check: Tsunami unleashes fake films and misinformation – DW – 07/30/2025
An earthquake in the Pacific triggered tsunami waves across the US, Japan, and Russia — and a flood of misinformation online. DW separates fact from fiction. A powerful earthquake off Russia's east coast has prompted evacuations across the Pacific, from Japan to Peru, and caused tsunami waves in Russia, Japan, and Hawaii. Among the footage circulating online, misinformation is also spreading fast. DW Fact check has seen false information ranging from shared out of context to AI-generated fakes and entirely fabricated claims about the situation on the ground. The American talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey, who lives part time in Maui, Hawaii, has been the target of harsh criticism. She owns a property there and the private road running up to it has sparked debate: Claim: "In Maui, Hawaii people are moving to higher ground. Oprah Winfrey has refused to let people use her private road," a user claims on X. DW Fact check: Misleading At the time the post was published on X, the road in question was already open to traffic, as the Maui Police Department clarified in a statement: "Oprah's road is open to get Upcountry." A spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey reacted to the claims in a statement shared with Newsweek: "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." Nevertheless, the claim that Oprah Winfrey would block her street to public traffic even in the face of the approaching tsunami persisted. On X in particular, posts to this effect reached millions of people, and the narrative also spread on Threads and TikTok. People reacted with anger to these posts. Some users posted videos showing that the road is open to traffic. This, as well as confirmation by the Maui police, undermine claims that Oprah Winfrey is blocking public use of her road to higher areas of the island of Maui, showing such posts to be misleading. As with previous breaking news events, much of the content being shared is older footage which is falsely labeled to suggest it shows the aftermath of the recent magnitude-8.8 quake. One of the most viral videos shows a couple in a rooftop swimming pool fleeing as heavy tremors begin. Claim: "What it's like at the rooftop swimming pool of a high-rise building during an M7.7 earthquake," says the post on X, which has 2.6 million views at the time of writing. DW Fact check: False While the footage is real and does show an earthquake's impact, it is not from the recent quake in eastern Russia. The video was filmed at a hotel in Bangkok on March 28, 2025, during a magnitude-7.7 earthquake centered in central Myanmar. Tremors were felt in Thailand and southwestern China. The clip can be verified via reverse image search and appears in media reportsfrom that time. Back then, a lot of fake content was shared, allegedly showing the aftermath and impact of the earthquake. DW Fact check found at the time that some of this information was false. Another post on Xclaims to show the "insane tsunami footage out of Russia." However, a reverse image search traces it back to a four-year-old video showing the impact of tsunami waves in Greenland. The original clip can be found in media reportsof the time. Back then, a massive landslide triggered a tsunami wave that caught local fishermen by surprise. A third video, also circulating on X, allegedly shows tsunami waves hitting land. But this clip was first posted in 2017and shows waves striking Durban North Beach in South Africa. It has been mislabeled in the past, including in 2023when it was posted along with the false claim it showed a tsunami following the Turkey-Syria earthquake. A viral postwith 6.4 million views on X shows screenshots from a TBS News DIG report about stranded whales on a Japanese beach. The post speculates that they may have been stranded by the tsunami. Claim: "In Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, a whale is flipping over for unknown reasons, possibly due to the impact of a tsunami," says the post. DW Fact check: UnknownA reverse image search confirms the footage is from a TBS News report. Agency photos from The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP, via picture alliance verify that whales were indeed stranded. However, according to Chiba prefectural police, the whales had been beached the day before the tsunami and the events are believed to be unrelated. A report by The Asahi Shimbunquotes expert Tajima Yuko from the National Museum of Nature and Science, who notes that if unusual underground sounds occurred before the quake, their effects on whales remain unknown. The article also quotes Mika Kuroda from the NPO Stranding Network Hokkaido who says there is no factual basis for suggestions that stranded whales are precursors for earthquakes, not least because dolphins or whales are stranded every day in Japan. Artificial intelligence also contribute to the wave of disinformation. Several viral posts about a tsunami alert in California following an earthquake in Russia circulate misleading visuals. One of such viral images can be seen in a post on X stating: "Balboa is gone." It refers to Balboa Island, a waterfront neighborhood in Newport Beach, California, connected to the mainland by a bridge, ferry, and multiple public docks. The image shows rows of submerged buildings that are almost entirely underwater, with only their roofs and top floors visible. In the background, a bridge can be seen above the waterline. DW Fact check: Fake This is an AI-generated image. While a tsunami watch was issued for parts of California, the projected impact was expected several hours after this image was posted. At the time of posting, there were no official evacuation orders in San Francisco. Moreover, the image contains visual inconsistencies. Despite the water appearing to engulf buildings, the foot of the bridge in the background is entirely visible, suggesting water levels are not consistent across the image. The original post garnered over 95.2K views. DW Fact check also tested this image on AI-detecting tools like AIorNot and Hive Moderation, both of which identified it as 99% AI-generated. Another misleading videocirculating online claims to show real-time impact of the tsunami: "BREAKING — Tsunami footage from the Russian Earthquake is starting to roll in," says a post on X. One of the videos shows people lying on a beach as a large wave approaches and crashes over the sand. In the subsequent clip, a similar wave is shown engulfing the shore. DW Fact check: Fake This video is also AI-generated. None of the people in the footage visibly react to the incoming wave, even as it approaches and washes over them. The wave formation itself is also inconsistent with natural behavior, emerging out of nowhere without any visible buildup.
DW
30-07-2025
- DW
Tsunami nears South America after Russia earthquake – DW – 07/30/2025
Countries along South America's Pacific coast issued tsunami warnings and called for people to evacuate their homes. Meanwhile, in Japan, the US and Russia, the threat of massive waves has largely in Chile issued evacuation orders for the coastal areas of Easter Island in the wake of tsunami warnings issued after Wednesday's Pacific earthquake. In the town of Hanga Roa on Easter Island, which belongs to Chile, the coastal promenade was reportedly closed, according to the radio station Cooperativa. However, the majority of the population is said to live in higher areas that are considered safe. On the mainland, Chile's disaster management agency declared a red alert for the entire coastal region and instructed regional directorates to evacuate endangered areas. President Gabriel Boric called for the population to remain calm and asked residents to follow official orders. An expedition team from the Russian Geographical Society has described the moment a tsunami swept away their tent camp on the Kuril Island of Shumshu on Wednesday. "When the wave hit, all we could do was run to higher ground. It's very difficult to do that in boots on slippery grass and in fog," group member Vera Kostamo told Russian tabloid newspaper , reporting lost possessions but no casualties. "All the tents and structures were swept away by the wave and our belongings were scattered across the beach for hundreds of meters." Just to the south in the coastal island town of Severo-Kurilsk, just 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of the earthquake's underwater epicenter, waves of up to four meters penetrated as far as 400 meters inland and washed buildings and debris into the sea. "Everyone was evacuated," said Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov. "There was enough time, a whole hour. So everyone was evacuated, all the people are in the tsunami safety zone." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tsunami waves began hitting the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia early on Wednesday and were smaller than initially feared, local authorities said. Initial forecasts had predicted waves of up to 4 meters (13 feet) have been revised with waves now expected to reach 1.10-2.50 meters, according to the High Commission of the Republic in French Polynesia. Hours before the first tsunami waves began to hit, residents were urged to go to safe zones, either at higher elevations or far offshore, and stay there until the official alerts are lifted. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck off Russia's far-eastern coast on Wednesday was "the equivalent of detonating 1 trillion kilograms of TNT," according to US meteorologist Matthew Cappucci, who also explained to DW how earthquakes and tsunamis form. Watch the entire interview here: To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Klyuchevskoi volcano in the far east of Russia began erupting on Wednesday following the powerful earthquake in the Pacific, according to Russian state media and a local geological monitoring service. Located in the far-eastern Russian oblast of Kamchatka, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Klyuchevskoi is the highest mountain in Siberia and one of the Eurasian continent's most active volcanoes. "A descent of burning hot lava is observed on the western slope," reported the Russian Academy of Sciences' United Geophysical Service in a statement on Telegram, describing a "powerful glow above the volcano" and "explosions." Klyuchevskoi, a cone-shaped volcano, is believed to have formed around 7,000 years ago and has erupted over 100 times since then, most recently in 2023. Russia's far eastern Kamchatka region has removed its tsunami warning after the earthquake, which had taken place off the coast the Kamchatka Peninsula. "Dear residents and vistors to the Kamchatka region, our colleagues from the State Emergency Situations Ministry have lifted the tsunami alert," Kamchatka emergencies minister Sergei Lebedev posted online. However there is still some tsunami risk in the Avacha Bay, which lies next to Kamchatka's capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Russian authorities have also canceled the tsunami warning for the Russian-administered Kuril islands, which lie south of the Kamchatka Peninsula and north of Japan. Officials in French Polynesia told residents of the Marquesas Islands that they can expect tsunami waves as high as 4 meters (13 feet). French Polynesia is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The remote Marquesa Island archipelago lies to the northeast of the main islands in French Polynesia. The High Commission of the French Republic in French Polynesia said the waves from "1.10 meters to 4 meters" are expected to hit the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesa island archipelago. Other islands could be hit with smaller waves of 0.6 to 0.9 meters. French Polynesia is an overseas territory of France. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said "our armed forces in French Polynesia are on alert as a precautionary measure, to be ready to assist our fellow citizens and state services in potential search and rescue operations or medical evacuations." The Japan Meterological Agency (JMA) has begun downgrading tsunami warnings for many parts of the country, and putting areas instead under lower level advisories. However, the Tohoku region and Hokkaido prefecture in northern Japan will remain under tsunami warmings for now, the JMA said. Tsunami waves earlier hit Hokkaido after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Japanese media has broadcast footage of four beached whales in Japan's Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. It's unclear if the whales were on the beach due to the tsunami or earthquake. Chiba Prefecture was not hit by a tsunami after the Kamchatka earthquake. Japanese officials say the whales showed up on the beach prior to the tsunami warnings due to the earthquake. Tsunami warnings due to the earthquake off Russia's East are also in effect for several Latin American countries which border the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has issued an evacuation order for beaches and coastal areas on the Pacific. "Tsunami alert for Choco and Narino," Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management posted on X, referring to two regions on the Pacific coast. "Preventive evacuation of beaches and low-lying coastal areas is recommended." Peru and its neighbor Chile are also under tsunami alerts. The president of Peru's Geophysical Institute, Hernando Tavera, told AFP news agency the tsunami "generated by this earthquake is expected to reach the Peruvian coast on Wednesday morning, with waves not expected to exceed three meters (9.8 feet) in height." Mexico, which has a long border with the Pacific, is also expected to be impacted. The Mexican Navy called for residents to stay away from beaches on the Pacific and they believe waves between 30 centimeters and 1 meter in height are possible. Another Latin American country, Ecuador, said its famous Galapagos Islands could be hit by tidal waves. Waves from the tsunami have hit the coast off northern California. "The tsunami has reached the California Coast, and is showing up in the Arena Cove, CA tide gauge and is making its way down the coast right now," the National Weather Service Los Angeles account posted on X. Arena Cove is located in northern California above San Francisco. A tsunami advisory is in effect across the coastal areas of California. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has led to injuries. Kamchatka Health Minister Oleg Melnikov said there were several injuries due to the quake, but did not provide an exact number. Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov posted video on Telegram of a kindergarten that had been damaged by the earthquake. Russian authorities have warned of aftershocks in Kamachatka after the quake. Tsunami waves have hit the US state of Hawaii after a warning was issued. An anchor for local Hawaii broadcaster KHON2 posted footage of the waves. Ports in Hawaii have closed, with residents asked to move to the high ground. Hawaiians are being urged to move to the fourth floor or higher of buildings as the waves come. "People should not, and I will say it one more time, should not, as we have seen in the past, stay around the shoreline or risk their lives just to see what a tsunami looks like," Hawaii Governor Josh Green said. "It is not a regular wave. It will actually kill if you get hit by a tsunami." Green later said that there had been no signs of significant waves in Hawaii after beginning tsunami preparations. Kahului Airport, which is located on HawaiI's largest island of Maui, has cancelled flights due to the tsunami risk. The first tsunami waves from the earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula made landfall in the Russian-administered Kuril Islands and Japan's large northern island of Hokkaido. Russian local governor Valery Limarenko said the first tsunami wave had struck the coast of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Pacific archipelago. Russian authorities said the town's population of around 2,000 people was evacuated and residents have been urged to remain on high ground until the threat of repeat waves has passed. Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA), meanwhile, said a tsunami as high as 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) had been detected in 16 locations as the waves moved south along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido to just northeast of Tokyo. Authorities have cautioned that bigger waves could come later, with the JMA saying that a major tsunami could be expected for more than a day after Wednesday's earthquake.
