A powerful 8.8-magnitude undersea earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula early on Wednesday, triggering tsunami waves of up to four metres and forcing evacuations along coastal areas in Russia and across large parts of Japan’s east coast.
The quake, which struck at a shallow depth of 19.3 kilometres, sent four-metre-high waves crashing into shorelines near Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. Russia’s regional authorities confirmed that several buildings were damaged, although no major injuries or fatalities have been reported so far.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was located about 125 kilometres east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a port city with around 1,65,000 residents on Avacha Bay. The USGS initially recorded the quake at magnitude 8.0 but later upgraded it to 8.8.
Soon after the main tremor, a 6.9-magnitude aftershock struck roughly an hour later, about 147 kilometres southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, at a depth of just 10 kilometres. The aftershock heightened concerns of structural damage and possible secondary tsunami waves.
Russia’s regional minister for emergency situations, Minister Lebedev, said tsunami waves between three and four metres were observed in parts of Kamchatka. “All need to move away from water peaks,” Lebedev urged, asking coastal residents to take immediate precautions.
Governor Vladimir Solodov confirmed in a video message posted on Telegram that a kindergarten had suffered damage but said there were no reports of injuries. “Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,” Solodov said.
The US Tsunami Warning System issued alerts for “hazardous tsunami waves” likely to reach within three hours. Wave heights of over three metres above tide level were expected along Russia’s Pacific coast and the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
The tsunami warning extended to Japan, where the Meteorological Agency warned that waves up to one metre could reach much of the country’s eastern coastline from around 0100 GMT.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was briefed on the situation, and an emergency committee has been formed to coordinate the government’s response.
Alerts were also issued for parts of the Philippines, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Chuuk, and Kosrae, with forecasts of waves ranging from 0.3 to one metre above tide level. Coastal regions of South Korea, North Korea, and Taiwan were warned to expect smaller waves under 0.3 metres.
In Russia’s Sakhalin region, Governor Valery Limarenko said evacuations were ordered in Severo-Kurilsk town to ensure residents’ safety as a precaution.
The tremor comes just weeks after a cluster of strong earthquakes was recorded in waters near Kamchatka earlier in July, including a magnitude 7.4 quake east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The region, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, is one of the world’s most active seismic zones.
In November 1952, Kamchatka experienced a magnitude 9.0 quake that generated massive waves of over nine metres in Hawaii, though no fatalities were recorded at the time.
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