A magnitude -8.7 earthquake on Wednesday struck Avacha Bay off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula – the strongest in the area since 1952.
Russia’s Unified Geophysical Service in Kamchatka recorded over 30 aftershocks of magnitudes between 2.0 and 5.0. Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatsky Airport evacuated passengers, with one minor injury; runways and aprons remained intact and operations have resumed.
The earthquake triggered tsunami alerts. Kamchatka’s emergency service reported 3- to 4-meter waves along the Yelizovo coast.
The North Kuril District of the Kuril Islands declared a state of emergency, evacuating about 2,700 people (including nearly 600 children). Coastal infrastructure was impacted, but there were no casualties.
Sakhalin Region likewise declared an emergency in the Severo‑Kurilsk District. Governor Valery Limarenko reported that four tsunami waves arrived, with no significant harm to residents or infrastructure.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings for Iwate, Hokkaido and Miyagi prefectures: waves of 1.3 meters at Iwate’s Kuji Port, 0.8 meters at Hokkaido’s Nemuro and 0.7 meters at Miyagi’s Ishinomaki Port. Coastal residents were urged to evacuate to higher ground.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and Hawaii, and advisories for California, Oregon, Washington, Guam and American Samoa.
In Hawaii, waves reached 1.7 meters high, statewide sirens sounded and flights and marine operations were suspended.
China issued a yellow tsunami alert on Wednesday, forecasting coastal wave heights of 0.3 meters, unlikely to cause damage.
China operates a four‑tier, color‑coded warning system – red, orange, yellow and blue – where yellow indicates potential wave amplitudes of 0.3 to 1 meter.
Due to possible overlap with Typhoon Co‑May, warnings remain for Taiwan’s east coast, while alerts for Zhejiang and Shanghai have been lifted.
New Zealand, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, Indonesia and Canada also issued tsunami advisories, urging people to stay away from shorelines, monitor official bulletins and comply with evacuation orders.
(Cover: After a massive earthquake off of Russia’s far east prompted tsunami alerts, street lights light up parts of the Ala Way Harbor, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii, the U.S, on July 29, 2025. /VCG)
Tsunami warnings issued across the Pacific following Kamchatka quake
