Tsunami warnings across Pacific Ocean after 8.8 magnitude earthquake
A tsunami has hit coastal areas of Russia's Kuril Islands and Japan's large northern island of Hokkaido after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake early on Wednesday.
Tsunami warning sirens sounded in Honolulu, Hawaii, where people were told to move to higher ground.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said a first tsunami wave of about 30 centimetres reached Nemuro on the eastern coast of Hokkaido.
A Tsunami WARNING has been issued by the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center for the Hawaiian Islands following a massive 8.7 earthquake off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia. The first tsunami wave is estimated to arrive in Hawaii by 7:17pm Hawaii Standard Time, July 29, 2025.… pic.twitter.com/0KiltgdkQa — Pacific Disaster Center - PDC Global (@PDC_Global) July 30, 2025
The first tsunami wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia's Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko.
He said residents were safe and staying on high ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.
Damage and evacuations were reported in the Russian regions nearest the quake's epicentre on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said waves of one to three metres above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan and the Solomon Islands. Waves of more than three metres were possible along some coastal areas of Russia and Ecuador.
The centre said a tsunami could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.
'Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,' the warning stated.
The quake at 8.25am Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and US seismologists said. Japan and the US Geological Survey (USGS) later updated their measurements to 8.7 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 12 miles.
The quake was about 160 miles away from Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan's NHK television.
In this image taken from a video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers inspect a kindergarten damaged by an earthquake in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service/AP)
Russia's Tass news agency reported from the biggest city near the epicentre, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, that many people ran out into the street without shoes or outerwear. Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildings shook noticeably.
Tass also reported power outages and mobile phone service failures in the capital of the Kamchatka region, quoting a local Russian official as saying residents on Sakhalin Island were being evacuated and emergency services were working at full capacity.
The National Tsunami Warning Centre, based in Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands and a watch for portions of the west coast, including California, Oregon and Washington, as well as Hawaii.
The advisory also includes a vast swath of Alaska's coastline.
The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the March 2011 earthquake off northeast Japan that measured 9.0 magnitude and caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a Fukushima nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have been measured around the world.
New Zealand authorities issued warnings of 'strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges' along coastlines throughout the country.
The alert by the government emergency management agency said people should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas, and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.
New Zealand is in the South Pacific and about 6,000 miles from the epicentre.
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