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2025 Kamchatka earthquake

On 30 July 2025, at 11:24:52 PETT, a Mw 8.8 megathrust earthquake struck off the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, 119 km (74 mi) east-southeast of the coastal city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It was the most powerful earthquake recorded worldwide since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, and is tied with the 1906 Ecuador–Colombia and 2010 Chile earthquakes as the sixth-strongest ever recorded by seismometers. However, it caused minimal damage compared to other earthquakes of similar magnitude. The earthquake caused moderate damage and multiple injuries in Kamchatka Krai and Sakhalin Oblast. The subsequent Pacific-wide tsunami was weaker than expected, with waves approximately 1 m (3 ft) or less in most places. However, a locally high run-up of 33.1 m (109 ft) was recorded in a steep narrow river valley near Vestnik Bay. One indirect fatality and 21 injuries were attributed to tsunami-related evacuations in Japan.

Tectonic setting
The earthquake occurred on the Kuril–Kamchatka subduction zone, a large thrust fault and convergent plate boundary between the Okhotsk plate and Pacific plate that extends from the east coast of the Kuril Islands to the Kamchatka Peninsula. Active subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the Okhotsk plate has been continuous since the Cretaceous. Estimates of the rate of convergence between these two plates varies between annually. Large earthquakes on the subduction zone have been recorded before. The previous largest was the 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake which measured 8.8–9.0 and had an epicenter southeast of the 2025 earthquake. A larger earthquake occurred in 1737 and had a magnitude estimated at 9.3. This earthquake generated a tsunami high according to written records by travellers and tsunami deposit observations. In 1841, another earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 9.0 produced a major tsunami that was also recorded in Hawaii. In a paper from Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth dated to 23 July 2025, researchers studied ring-shaped seismicity in southern Kamchatka, a pattern in earthquakes where their epicenters are distributed around an elliptical "ring" shape. These events are often associated with the preparatory process of a large earthquake on an active fault. An analysis of earthquakes from 1973 to late 2024 revealed three ring-shaped seismicity structures at , , and . Existing studies reported that a large earthquake usually occurs about 10 to 15 years after a sudden high rate of seismicity around these structures, and in the Kamchatka area, this occurred in 2016. The paper said there was a likelihood of a large earthquake occurring between 2026 and 2031 with a moment magnitude of 8.4–8.8. ==Earthquake==
Earthquake
The large submarine earthquake occurred on 29 July at 23:24:50 UTC with a moment magnitude () of 8.8, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The International Seismological Centre (ISC) assigned the earthquake a moment magnitude of 8.7. Its epicenter was off the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, about east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, while the hypocenter was put at a shallow depth of . The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and Geoscience Australia both put the magnitude at 8.6. The USGS said the earthquake occurred as a result of shallow reverse faulting on the subduction zone interface. They estimated the area where movement occurred on the interface to be by . The rupture was believed to have re-ruptured the part of the fault that slipped in the Mw 9.0 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake, and also filled any remaining seismic gap between the 1952 and 1923 Kamchatka earthquakes. The foreshock was preceded by smaller earthquakes in the hour before, including a 6.7 earthquake. At least 3,733 aftershocks followed, with 26 equal to or greater than 6.0, including a 6.9 event at 00:09 UTC on 30 July, a 6.8 on 3 August, a 7.4 on 13 September, and a 7.8 on 18 September. In Japan, the earthquake was felt at an intensity of 2 on the Shindo scale in Hokkaido. Characteristics A finite fault model released by the USGS indicated slip on an approximately by segment of the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench up to a depth of . A majority of the rupture propagated along the subduction zone from the hypocenter to the southwest as far as Onekotan Island, while the remaining propagated northeast towards offshore Cape Shipunskii, albeit producing only negligible amounts of slip (less than ) in small patches close to the trench. The USGS estimated the earthquake's duration to be about 270 seconds (four minutes and 30 seconds). although the eruption was not directly caused by the earthquake, and activity at the volcano had been observed over the preceding days. On 3 August, Krasheninnikov, another volcano, generated a eruption plume. It was the first recorded eruption on the volcano since human observations began. The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Russian Academy of Sciences said on 6 August that seven Kamchatka volcanoes had erupted due to the earthquake, an occurrence that had not been seen on the Kamchatka Peninsula in nearly 300 years. Parts of the southern Kamchatka Peninsula shifted southeast by as much as according to the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ==Tsunami==
Tsunami
Warnings Space NASA's GNSS-based Upper Atmospheric Realtime Disaster Information and Alert Network (GUARDIAN), comprising a portion of the Global Navigation Satellite System, had an AI component installed the day before the earthquake, which informed scientists in near real-time of the tsunami crossing open ocean. The vast column of water uplifted over a wide area pushed up the mass of air above it, sending ripples of low-frequency sound and gravity waves upwards into the ionosphere, thus measurably perturbing the orbits of GPS satellites. Asia The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) warned of "hazardous tsunami waves" along the coasts of Russia and Japan. Authorities in Russia also issued tsunami warnings for the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands, which were cancelled on the evening of 30 July. On 3 August, a magnitude 7.0 aftershock off the Kuril Islands prompted Russian authorities to issue a tsunami warning in parts of Kamchatka, with the Ministry of Emergency Situations warning of waves of up to . The alert was lifted later that day. In the first tsunami alerts issued in Japan since the 2024 Hualien earthquake, and elsewhere; 900,000 people in 133 municipalities were also advised to evacuate. The agency said up to waves were expected to reach the coast and urged the evacuation of the areas expected to be impacted. The runways of Sendai Airport were closed, while JR East, JR Central, and JR Hokkaido suspended rail services. Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were ordered to evacuate, while a scheduled release of treated radioactive water from the facility into the Pacific Ocean was halted. The Japanese Defense Ministry deployed its air assets to the Pacific coast to gather information. The JMA downgraded its warnings to advisories on the night of 30 July Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency issued a warning for parts of Papua, North Maluku, North Sulawesi, and Gorontalo. Authorities in Indonesia expected small tsunami waves of less than in coastal areas of the regions mentioned, advising residents to move away from beaches and low-lying shores. In China, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued a yellow alert, the second lowest of a four-tier tsunami alert level system, covering Taiwan, Zhejiang Province, and Shanghai. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration issued a "tsunami watch" alert, saying that waves as high as could hit the island's southeastern and southwestern coasts. The tsunami marked the first time the Central Emergency Operation Center was activated for such an event, causing 23 rescue aircraft and 14 naval vessels to be placed on standby. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami advisory for the Pacific coast of the Philippines with waves expected to be up to . The advisory covered 22 provinces from Batanes to Davao Occidental. The advisory was eventually cancelled as the seismological agency did not record significant sea level disturbances and destructive tsunami waves. The PTWC also warned of waves measuring less than hitting South Korea. Oceania The PTWC warned that tsunami waves high were possible in Hawaii and the Solomon Islands, and that waves up to were likely to affect American Samoa, Chuuk, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna. and alerts were also issued in Palau and the Northern Mariana Islands. An advisory was issued by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for "strong currents and unpredictable surges" around the entire coast of New Zealand; the next day, NEMA extended the advisory for another 24 hours due to rebounding tsunami activity from South America. An alert was issued by Tonga's Meteorological Services, advising people in tsunami threat areas to evacuate. In Fiji, the Mineral Resources department similarly issued a tsunami watch for low-lying coastal areas. The Cook Islands' Meteorological Services issued an advisory, saying there was no immediate threat to the islands but the situation was being monitored. Samoa's Meteorological Office issued an advisory, cautioning the public around coastal areas, while the PTWC said a threat to American Samoa was still under investigation. In the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, authorities warned that waves of up to could reach the islands of Ua Huka, Nuku Hiva, and Hiva Oa. The entirety of the U.S. West Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington state) was placed under alert, as were portions of coastal Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. In California, the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area were placed under advisory by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A warning was also issued covering the coast from Cape Mendocino, California, to the border with Oregon. The Mexican Navy warned of strong currents at ports along the Pacific coast from Baja California to Chiapas. The government also urged residents to stay away from beaches. Alerts were also issued in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. with a wave striking Severo-Kurilsk in the nearby Kuril Islands. Inundation in Severo-Kurilsk reached roughly 600 meters. The first wave was the largest in Severo-Kurilsk. On Shumshu, the tsunami flooded as far as inland with waves and reached a maximum run-up height of in Baikovo. The Shirshov Institute of Oceanology said waves of may have struck parts of the peninsula's coast. Waves of were found along Khalaktyrsky beach during a survey by the Kamchatka Hydrometeorological Center. An American tsunami scientist estimated that waves of up to may have struck lesser populated areas of Kamchatka. In Japan, tsunamis were observed in 22 of the country's 47 prefectures. Tsunamis measuring were reported to have struck Hachijō-jima and Nemuro, Hokkaido, Wave heights reached up to in areas such as Hamanaka, Hokkaido. A wave was observed in Harumi, Tokyo. A tsunami was observed in the Galapagos Islands. In the Hawaiian Islands, a tsunami struck Midway Atoll at 17:00 SST. Kahului, Hawaii, was struck by a wave, while at Hilo, the tsunami was high. Haleʻiwa was struck by a surge at 19:48 HST. The town's gauge recorded an amplitude of relative to normal sea level in the tsunami's first impact in the area. In Washington, waves of occurred at La Push and waves were recorded in Seattle. Along the Chilean coast, waves of over were recorded. At some beaches, wave heights reached . In Boyeruca, Maule Region, a rise in sea level was observed. At Coquimbo and Coliumo, these measurements were and , respectively. ==Damage and casualties==
Damage and casualties
At least four people were injured in Kamchatka, although none of their injuries were serious. Injuries were reported among people exiting buildings, including a hospital patient who jumped from a window. Damage to infrastructure, power outages and mobile phone service failures were reported in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The façade of a kindergarten building partially collapsed, and cracks formed in the walls of several medical and social service buildings in the city. About 1,400 homes were reportedly damaged. The ceiling covering of a terminal at Elizovo Airport collapsed, injuring a woman. In Sakhalin Oblast, ventilators and stove pipes of some buildings were partially destroyed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attributed the lack of fatalities and major damage in the region to robust building construction and the preparedness of locals. Emergency services noted an increase in calls from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky complaining about high blood pressure, arrhythmia and epilepsy. Rybachy, a nuclear submarine base located in Avacha Bay, was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, according to satellite images. The base, which houses Russia's Pacific submarine fleet, saw at least one of its piers damaged by tsunami waves. In the town of Severo-Kurilsk, located in the Kuril Islands, the earthquake damaged all 106 apartment buildings, social facilities and public utility buildings, and toppled more than 90 percent of chimneys. The town's port was later inundated by the tsunami, with structures being swept away, including a fish processing plant following waves that reached inland. Russian authorities said a state of emergency was declared on tsunami-hit islands. The town itself was originally located next to the port, but was largely destroyed by a tsunami in 1952, which prompted the officials to rebuild it on higher ground further inland, leaving only the port exposed. A state of emergency was subsequently declared in Severo-Kurilsky District and in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Around 2,700 people were evacuated. An electricity grid in Sakhalin was damaged by the earthquake, causing power outages. In Vilyuchinsk, criticism, including from Kamchatka Krai's governor, Vladimir Solodov, over the response by local authorities to the disaster led to the resignation of the town's mayor Igor Golovchak on 5 August. In Japan, 21 people were injured or suffered heat-related illnesses while evacuating In Kumano, Mie Prefecture, a 58-year-old woman died after her car went over a cliff while she was trying to relocate it to higher ground. In the United States, the tsunami caused minor property damage in Hawaii and $1 million in property damage in Crescent City, California. ==See also==
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