Tsunami Hits Russia's Far East After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

Last Updated:July 30, 2025, 06:45 IST

A powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering a tsunami up to 4 metres high and prompting widespread evacuations.

Tsunami hits Russia's Far East after powerful earthquake (Representative photo/AFP)

A powerful magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet), prompting evacuations and damaging buildings, officials said.

“Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors," Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. He added that according to preliminary information there were no injuries, but a kindergarten was damaged.

A tsunami with a height of 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations said, urging people to move away from the shoreline of the peninsula.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centred about 125 km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 along the coast of Avacha Bay. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier.

The Japan Weather Agency upgraded its warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT. Broadcast NHK said evacuation orders had been issued by the government for some areas.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of “hazardous tsunami waves" within the next three hours along some coasts of Russia, Japan and Hawaii. A tsunami watch was also in effect for the U.S. island territory of Guam and other islands of Micronesia.

An evacuation order for the small town of Severo-Kurilsk, south of the peninsula, was declared due to the tsunami threat, Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko said on Telegram.

Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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