A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia's eastern coast struck the Kamchatka Peninsula at around 11:25 a.m. local time on Wednesday, 1:25 a.m. in mainland Spain, 5:25 p.m. Tuesday in Mexico City, and 7:25 p.m. in Washington, triggering a wide range of tsunami warnings across the Pacific, from Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand to U.S. territories like Alaska and Hawaii, and South American countries like Chile. The quake was the strongest in the region since 1952, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, which placed the epicenter about 126 kilometers southeast of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and at a depth of 20.7 kilometers below the seabed. Despite the warnings, the consequences were not severe, and many of those areas lifted their warnings hours later.
This is the strongest earthquake recorded on the planet since the 2011 earthquake in Japan, which triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In Japan, two million people have been evacuated as a precaution, but the alert level had already been lowered throughout the country by the evening. Alerts have also been lowered in China and the US state of Hawaii, as well as on the US West Coast, while Russia has deactivated its alert. No fatalities have been reported, except for a Japanese woman who died when her car fell off a cliff.
The US tsunami warning system warned of waves between one and three meters above the tide level in several coastal areas of Russia, Japan, Hawaii, Chile, Ecuador, and the Solomon Islands. In Russia, authorities reported several injuries and property damage."Today's earthquake was severe and the strongest in decades," said Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov in a video posted on Telegram.
According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, tsunami waves reached three meters in height at the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The strong waves tore boats from their moorings and swept away storage containers, forcing the evacuation of nearly 300 people from the port, according to state media. Other images released showed waves flooding a port in the Kuril Islands, although authorities assured that all residents had been evacuated to safe areas.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that there had been no casualties in Russia, which he attributed to the proper functioning of the warning systems. At around 11:00 p.m. local time, the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Kamchatka Region, Sergei Lebedev, shared via Telegram that the tsunami warning for the region had been lifted.
Alert in Asia
Despite its magnitude, the earthquake was barely felt in Japan, the foreign territory closest to the epicenter. There, it only reached level 2 on the seven-level Japanese seismic scale, which measures the intensity of ground shaking and its destructive potential. However, Japan, one of the best-prepared countries for crises of this type, immediately activated its emergency response system. The National Fire and Disaster Management Agency estimates that nearly two million residents in 21 prefectures received evacuation orders throughout the morning, urging them to"leave dangerous areas as soon as possible, before the situation worsens."
Videos broadcast by NHK show groups of people sheltering on building rooftops and in various public shelters located on higher ground.
The National Meteorological Agency warned that waves could reach three meters, although the largest recorded as night fell was 1.3 meters, at Kuii Port in Iwate Prefecture (northeast). The agency's warnings have been in effect since early this morning for virtually the entire Japanese Pacific coast. At 9:00 p.m., the alert level was lowered to a"tsunami warning" for the entire archipelago. However, authorities are urging the public to continue taking extreme precautions.
The only known fatality is a 58-year-old woman who died in Mie prefecture (southeast) after her vehicle plunged off a cliff as she was heading for higher ground for protection, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported.
Alert in Fukushima
The tsunami warning has set off alarm bells in Fukushima (northeast), where one of the worst nuclear disasters in history occurred in 2011. A magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused more than 18,000 deaths. It also flooded the Fukushima Daiichi plant and caused the core meltdown of three of its reactors. The plant is currently being decommissioned, and although no anomalies have been detected at the facility, the 4,000 workers at the plant have been evacuated as a precaution. The release of treated water into the ocean has also been temporarily suspended.
China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Taiwan have also issued tsunami warnings, and emergency services have monitored the situation. The danger of a tsunami depends not only on the height of the waves, but also on the energy of their impact and the duration of their impact. This type of phenomenon can cause strong currents, abnormal or sudden retreat of the sea, and repeated waves lasting several hours, capable of sweeping away boats or people, and is especially dangerous in ports and river mouths.
State of emergency in Hawaii
In the United States, the National Weather Service (NWS) raised the tsunami warning to the highest level for the entire state of Hawaii, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska and home to some 5,000 people. The first waves were expected in the afternoon, but at 10:38 p.m. Tuesday (local time), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported that it was downgrading the warning from red to orange, the second highest level on the three-color intensity scale. This meant that the warning went from the highest level, which indicates a high probability of flooding and a recommendation to stay inland and in high-lying areas, to a warning to stay away from beaches and areas near water, due to the possibility of strong waves and currents.
Alaska, the northernmost state in the United States, was the first to be affected by the earthquake, with small waves. This region had already suffered a tsunami in 1958, in Lituya Bay, which caused a 524-meter-high megawave.
Hawaiian authorities ordered the"immediate evacuation" of large parts of Oahu, including the capital, Honolulu, and Governor Josh Green declared a state of emergency. Emergency services ordered residents to leave beaches and low-lying areas and seek refuge at higher altitudes or in hotels in the tourist area. After the alert level was lowered, residents were told they could return to their homes in the evacuated areas. Shelters had been set up on the islands in schools, hotels, and community centers.
HNL Alert: 10:51 PM 07-29-2025 - HNL Alert: 10:45PM UPDATE - Tsunami Warning has been downgraded to Advisory. Evacuation lifted. Safe to return evacuated areas. Info: https://t.co/YRpptHbSzb https://t.co/vf4rdeDx5j
— Oahu Emergency Mgmt. (@Oahu_DEM) July 30, 2025
In Los Angeles, however, between 36 and 40 hours of maritime movement are expected. Mayor Karen Bass has urged caution and assured that emergency services are"actively responding to the tsunami warning." Although caution has been urged until Saturday, Southern California is not expected to be among the hardest hit, with waves rising only 30 centimeters.
Towns in southwestern California, such as Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach, have decided to close their beaches to the public until further notice, but have not issued evacuation orders. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stated that the tsunami has indeed occurred, but that it"does not pose a threat to those areas": "Some areas may see small changes in sea level. The decision to return to the danger zones will have to be made by the authorities."
In most of California and Alaska, the National Weather Service has already withdrawn tsunami warnings, although it continues to warn of strong currents and encourages people to move inland. The worst area, and the only one where the warning has been maintained, is Northern California, between Crescent City and Eureka, in Del Norte County, with a higher warning level."It's been a long night, but this time we got lucky," Crescent City officials said Wednesday morning. Waves of up to 1.5 meters high are expected there, but without serious consequences. Finally, early Wednesday, no U.S. territories remained under the maximum warning level, only a few areas were under surveillance.
In 2022, there was already a tsunami that mainly affected the Santa Cruz area (south of San Francisco), with flooded streets and parking lots that left images of floating cars, and with moderate damage, around six million dollars, according to Los Angeles Times.
US President Donald Trump spoke out in a message on his social network Truth: “Due to a large earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning has been issued for the residents of Hawaii. A Tsunami Watch has been issued for Alaska and the Pacific coast of the United States. Japan is also in the area. STAY STRONG AND SAFE!” he wrote.
Alerts in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Ecuador
In Mexico, the Tsunami Warning Center of the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) issued an alert for the Pacific coast, warning of the arrival of tsunamis of less than 20 centimeters starting at 2:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It also recommended"keeping the population away from the beaches" until the alert is lifted and warned that "strong currents are expected at port entrances."
Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced on his social media account that a tsunami warning would remain in effect along the entire Chilean coast through Wednesday. The Ministry of Education suspended classes in schools along the Chilean coast.
Due to the earthquake in Russia at this time, a national COGRID is being implemented. For now, we have a tsunami warning for the entire Chilean coast for tomorrow. The protocol is to evacuate three hours before the estimated arrival of the wave. We will provide detailed information on the next steps. Keep…
— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) July 30, 2025
The National Disaster Prevention Service (Senapred) raised the alert from yellow to red for all coastal towns. Rapa Nui was the first Chilean territory to be hit by the wave train. Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde estimated that 1.5 million people across the country would be evacuated.
In Ecuador, the Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute of the Navy also warned of the potential for a tsunami and recommended the suspension of coastal maritime activities, where waves of 1.4 meters were expected on Wednesday."Regarding the continental coastal zone, the observation status remains in place, as the risk of impact is considered to be lower at this time," it added.
The Peruvian Navy's Hydrography and Navigation Directorate also issued a tsunami warning.
French President Emmanuel Macron also warned on Wednesday afternoon on his X account that “a tsunami is approaching French Polynesia” and asked the population of the French-colonized islands in the Pacific Ocean to “follow the instructions of local authorities.”
