2025 Kamchatka Peninsula earthquake

On 30 July 2025, at 11:24:52 PETT (23:24:52 UTC, 29 July) a M_w 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.^[1] It is the most powerful earthquake worldwide since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake,^[2] and is tied with the 1906 Ecuador-Colombia and the 2010 Chile earthquakes as the sixth-largest earthquake 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. One indirect fatality and 21 injuries were attributed to tsunami-related evacuations in Japan.

The earthquake happened off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, near the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, the area where the Pacific and Okhotsk Sea plates meet. The Pacific Plate is older and heavier, which it slides under the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is on the Okhotsk Plate. The two plates collided into each other at a meeting point called an trench. The subduction zone often causes Kamchatka earthquakes, and sometimes these earthquakes create tsunamis. Some of them are very strong, like the 1952 magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which was the fifth-largest ever recorded.^[3] An even larger one may have happened in 1737. It also caused a big tsunami.^[4]

The mainshock happened on 29 July at 23:24:52 UTC with a magnitude of M_ww  8.8, according to the United States Geological Survey.^[5] At first, they put the magnitude at 8.0, before they changed it to 8.7 and then 8.8.^[6] The center of the earthquake was off the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, about 136 km (85 mi) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, while the earthquake was at a depth of 18.2 km (11.3 mi).^[1] The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology put a magnitude of M_w  8.4 and a depth of 2 km (1.2 mi),^[7] while Geoscience Australia put the magnitude at M_ww  8.6.^[8] A M_ww  7.4 foreshock happened on 20 July, about 60 km (37 mi) to the southwest of the 29 July event.^[9] A M_w  6.9 aftershock happened at 23:48 UTC.^[10]

The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake happened because of shallow reverse faulting at the subduction zone. They think the area where the plates moved was about 390 km (240 mi) by 140 km (87 mi).^[1]

The Japan Meteorological Agency gave a tsunami warning for the coasts of Hokkaido and Honshu. Advisories were given for Shikoku and Kyushu.^[11][12] The agency said up to 3 m (9.8 ft) waves were expected to reach the coast.^[13] The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned about dangerous waves along the coasts of Russia and Japan.^[14] Tsunami warnings were given for parts of Alaska and Hawaii while Guam was under an advisory.^[15] The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also gave a tsunami advisory for British Columbia and the Pacific coastline, with no large waves expected.^[16][17]

Some people were injured while getting out of buildings.^[18] In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a kindergarten was damaged.^[19] The ceiling of a terminal at Elizovo Airport fell, injuring a woman.^[20]

Tsunami waves about 5–6 m (16–20 ft) hit the eastern coast of Kamchatka.^[5] The port town of Severo-Kurilsk, located in the Kuril Islands, was flooded and buildings, including a fish processing plant, were washed away.^[21][22] The town was hit by a large tsunami in 1952, which officials rebuilt it on higher ground and left only the port in the low area.^[23]