A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, 2025. (Credit: Getty Images)
A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, damaging buildings and generating tsunami waves up to 4 metres high.
Authorities reported several injuries in the remote Russian region, with strong aftershocks expected. The quake prompted tsunami warnings and evacuations across the Pacific, including in Japan, Hawaii, parts of the US West Coast, and several Southeast Asian nations.
In Kamchatka, ceiling panels were damaged at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky International Airport, but flights continued on schedule. The runway was reported to be in “satisfactory condition”. Passengers were briefly evacuated, with one person injured at the facility.
Japan, still scarred by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, ordered evacuations along much of its eastern seaboard. In Hawaii, cars were seen leaving Waikiki Beach as Governor Josh Green urged residents to heed evacuation orders. US President Donald Trump advised Americans to remain alert for tsunami warnings.
The Philippines and Indonesia also issued tsunami advisories. Manila’s volcanology agency forecast waves of less than 1 metre, warning residents in more than 20 coastal provinces to stay away from shorelines. Indonesia’s meteorology agency issued alerts for parts of North Sulawesi, North Maluku, West Papua and Gorontalo, advising calm and caution but stopping short of ordering evacuations.
Tsunami alerts of varying levels were issued as far afield as China, Guam, Peru, and the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador.
The quake struck in one of the world’s most seismically active zones, raising fresh concerns over infrastructure resilience and emergency preparedness across the Pacific.
