Tsunami alerts and coastal shutdowns after massive quake off Russia: As it happened
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, triggering tsunami alerts and evacuation orders across several Pacific coastal regions.
The quake occurred around 11:30am local time, around 136km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and was the strongest in the area since 1952, according to the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The first tsunami waves reached Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, washing away a fish processing plant and flooding a local port. A 3-4-meter wave was recorded in Kamchatka’s Elizovsky district, while Russia’s Oceanology Institute said waves near the epicenter in southeastern Kamchatka and the Northern Kurils may have reached 10-15 meters. All coastal areas were evacuated.
In Japan, tsunami waves were observed along the Hokkaido coast. The authorities initially issued evacuation orders for more than 1.9 million people across 21 Pacific coast prefectures but later downgraded several to ‘lower-level advisories’.
The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued an advisory for the entire US West Coast, as well as parts of Canada and Alaska. Elevated sea levels were reported in Washington, Oregon, and California, though no damage has been confirmed. In Hawaii, an initial warning was downgraded to an advisory, with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cautioning that sea level changes and strong currents may still endanger swimmers, boaters, and those near beaches, harbors, and marinas.
Tsunami advisories and alerts were also issued in the Philippines, Guam, Chile, New Zealand, and several other Pacific regions.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an interactive map showing the quake’s epicenter and the spread of tsunami warnings, advisories, and threats across the Pacific.
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30 July 2025
20:16 GMTThe Hawaii Emergency Management Agency has issued an all-clear for the entire state.
- 18:26 GMT
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that a tsunami is “coming” to French Polynesia, announcing on X that all government departments are “mobilized” to “protect our citizens.”
Earlier on Wednesday, local authorities issued a tsunami warning for the Marquesas Islands, with waves of up to two meters expected on Ua Huka, Nuku Hiva, and Hiva Oa.
- 17:07 GMT
Five earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.0, 4.8, 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0 were recorded in Kamchatka in just over ten minutes, according to the Kamchatka branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Seismologists said the quakes struck between 212km and 402km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
- 17:00 GMT
Peru’s national emergency center has warned on X that the number of closed ports along the country’s coastline has risen to 126. The South American nation, with its long Pacific shoreline and several major cities along the coast, earlier issued a tsunami alert.
- 16:50 GMT
The US National Weather Service (NWS) in Los Angeles has issued a caution, strongly urging residents and visitors to stay out of the water, even in areas not currently under a tsunami advisory.
In a statement posted on X, the agency warned that dangerous currents are expected along the Southern California coast on Wednesday, posing a serious risk to swimmers and beachgoers.
Current info about the tsunami (900 AM).Main thing to stress is that currents will be very strong across all the coastal waters today. So, people should stay out of the water and avoid harbors all along the #SoCal coast. #CAwxpic.twitter.com/5dnWiXKpvW
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) July 30, 2025 - 13:52 GMT
The US National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) has canceled its advisory for the coastal areas of South Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands. However, a tsunami warning remains in effect for a small section of the Northern California coast.
- 13:47 GMT
The Kamchatka earthquake ranks among the ten strongest ever recorded in the world.
The magnitude 8.8 earthquake near Kamchatka, Russia, was among the top-6 strongest ever recorded on Earth. pic.twitter.com/aSTHLFdPjp
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) July 30, 2025 - 13:46 GMT
The Chilean authorities have issued a tsunami warning for Easter Island, urging residents to evacuate to safe zones. The Pacific island, over 3,200km off Chile’s coast, is home to around 8,000 people.
- 13:21 GMT
No casualties have been recorded in Russia after the earthquake and tsunamis off the Far Eastern coast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. The regional Health Ministry earlier reported several people with mild injuries but gave no exact figures.
Peskov noted that tsunami warning systems had worked “in a timely manner,” enabling necessary evacuations.
- 13:01 GMT
Tsunami advisories for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have been canceled, with Micronesia also declaring an all-clear, the local weather service said. However, it warned that “strong currents may still occur.”
