Moscow [Russia], July 30 (ANI): A powerful earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck off the coast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on Wednesday morning, triggering widespread tsunami warnings across the Pacific region.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at a shallow depth of 20.7 kilometers, increasing the likelihood of significant aftershocks. Shortly after the initial tremor, another earthquake of the same magnitude followed.
“Notable quake, preliminary info: M 8.0 – 136 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia,” the USGS reported.
Two significant aftershocks were also recorded—one measuring 6.9 and the other 6.3 on the Richter scale.
“Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.9 – 147 km SE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia,” noted the USGS.
“Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.3 – 131 km SE of Vilyuchinsk, Russia,” the agency added.
Tsunami waves measuring up to 3–4 meters were reported in Kamchatka, according to regional emergency minister Sergei Lebedev. Evacuations were ordered in Kamchatka, Japan, and other areas, including Hawaii, where a tsunami watch is currently in effect.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed that a tsunami had struck the far eastern coast, flooding parts of the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, home to about 2,000 people. “The tsunami flooded parts of the port town of Severo-Kurilsk … The population has been evacuated,” the ministry said in a statement, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The July 29, 2025, magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred due to shallow reverse faulting. At the epicenter, the Pacific Plate is moving west-northwest relative to the North America Plate at a rate of approximately 77 mm/year. The North America Plate in this region extends beyond the continental landmass.
The earthquake’s characteristics are consistent with faulting along the subduction zone interface of the Kuril-Kamchatka Arc, according to the USGS.
Although large earthquakes are often plotted as points on a map, those of this magnitude are more accurately described as ruptures over a large fault area. Reverse faulting events of this size typically span about 390 km in length and 140 km in width.
The Kuril-Kamchatka Arc is known for its frequent seismic activity and has recorded 31 other magnitude 6.5+ earthquakes within 250 km of the July 29 epicenter in the past century. Notably, this includes a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on July 20, 2025, which is now being considered a foreshock to the latest event.
The epicenter of the July 29 quake is located approximately 45 km southeast of the 1952 magnitude 9.0 Kamchatka earthquake epicenter, which generated a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami.
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