Massive 8.8 Magnitude Quake Triggers Tsunami in Japan, Russia
Powerful Undersea Tremor Off Kamchatka Peninsula Causes Coastal Damage, Evacuations, and State of Emergency in Kuril Islands.
- An 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering tsunami waves in Japan and Russia.
- The quake, ranked the sixth-largest on record, caused up to 4-meter waves, leading to structural damage and flooding in coastal areas.
- Russia’s Kuril Islands declared a state of emergency, while Japan issued warnings and observed waves, with evacuations carried out in both countries and warnings extending across the Pacific.
GG News Bureau
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 30th July: A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today, triggering tsunami waves that reached the coastlines of Japan and Russia, causing structural damage, flooding, and prompting widespread evacuations. The US Geological Survey has identified this seismic event as the sixth-largest on record globally.
The quake, centered approximately 125 kilometers east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of about 19 kilometers, generated tsunami waves that reportedly reached up to 4 meters high in some areas, causing significant damage. Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov described it as “Today’s earthquake was the strongest in decades.”
In Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin region, a state of emergency was declared in the northern Kuril Islands after tsunami waves damaged buildings and caused flooding in districts like Severo-Kurilsk. Russian emergency services issued evacuation orders for affected areas, urging residents to move to higher ground. First visuals circulating on social media showed Russian coastal buildings submerged and vast volumes of water inundating the land.
Japan’s national broadcaster NHK issued warnings that larger waves could follow, with the Japan Meteorological Agency earlier forecasting tsunami waves of up to three meters for northern and eastern coastal regions, extending as far south as Wakayama, near Osaka. Four whales were also reported to have washed ashore on the Japanese coastline in the aftermath of the initial waves, according to BNO News.
Tsunami warnings and watches were also extended across the Pacific, including for Hawaii, Guam, and other Micronesian islands, as well as parts of the US West Coast. Japan’s weather agency warned of potential 3-meter waves hitting coastal cities. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation as the full extent of the damage continues to unfold.
