30-07-2025
Magnitude 8.8 earthquake hits Russia coast, triggers Pacific-wide Tsunami alerts
One of the largest earthquakes in recent times, 8.8 on the Richter scale, struck Russia's remote Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, causing shockwaves worldwide. This handout picture released by the Sakhalin Region Government on July 30, 2025, shows the tsunami-hit Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir island of Russia's northern Kuril islands(AFP)
The massive undersea earthquake produced tsunami waves of up to 13 feet, destroying buildings, inundating coastal communities, and prompting emergency evacuations in Russia and tsunami alerts as far distant as Japan and the United States.
Get the latest updates on Tsunami alerts here
The Kamchatka Peninsula, known for its volcanic terrain and seismic unrest, hasn't seen tremors of such enormous magnitude in decades.
The earthquake's epicentre was only 119 kilometres from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital city inhabited by some 180,000 people. Yet the impact of the earthquake was not limited to Russia's far-flung border.
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Waves of up to 4 meters hit the Kuril Islands, specifically the town of Severo-Kurilsk, while coastal areas in Japan and the US issued warnings. This highlights the cross-border danger posed by undersea earthquakes in tectonically active areas.
Here are 10 key takeaways from today's earthquake that might trigger one of the strongest Tsunamis:
1- By late afternoon in Japan, the largest waves to reach the shore measured 1.3 meters. One death has been reported, but there are no signs of major damage. But nearly two million people were advised to evacuate coastal areas.
2- Waves up to 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) hit the islands of Hawaii before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre lowered its warning for the state about 0850 GMT, reporting no large tsunami would be seen.
3- The transport ministry reported that later flights departed Honolulu airport, though the primary Maui airport was shut down, with people taking refuge in the terminal.
4- America issued a warning for Hawaii after a major earthquake off Russia's east coast, joined by a warning from Japan.
5- Tsunami advisories were issued for the Aleutian Islands along with warnings for the entire US and Canadian West Coast, the US National Weather Service's Tsunami Warning System reported. Guam is also under a tsunami advisory.
6- The US weather agency also raised threats of tsunami waves striking the Philippines, Russia, and several Pacific islands, among them Yap and the Marshall Islands.
7- The authorities announced that waves of four metres high are likely to reach French Polynesia following the Russian earthquake.
8- Hawaii and some areas in Alaska have tsunami warnings, while a tsunami watch is in effect from the California-Mexico border up to Chignik Bay, Alaska, as per the US National Weather Service's Tsunami Warning System.
9- Shanghai moved over 2,80,000 residents, suspended hundreds of flights and ferry operations and put speed restrictions on roads and railways on Wednesday as a tropical storm lashed eastern China with gales and rainfall.
10- There is no tsunami danger to the Indian coast after the 8.7 magnitude earthquake off Russia's East Coast of Kamchatka, the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) stated on Wednesday.
