Massive earthquake of magnitude 8.8 strikes Russia’s far east, biggest since 2011; details inside

A massive earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck the far eastern Kamchatka region of Russia on Wednesday (July 30, 2025). This is the first earthquake over 8.0 recorded since 2022 and the largest to hit since 2011, according to the USGS. Following the tremors, tsunami warnings were issued for parts of Russia and Japan.

According to the USGS, the quake’s epicenter was about 85 miles (136 kilometers) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, at a depth of 19 kilometers. The quake is the strongest since 2011, when a 9.0-9.1 megaquake struck northeast Japan, triggering a massive tsunami and leading to thousands of deaths.




Japan’s meteorological agency stated that the quake occurred at 8:25 a.m. (2325 GMT Tuesday) and registered a preliminary magnitude of 8.0. It issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to 1 meter (yard) along the Pacific coast of Japan.

According to local governor Vladimir Solodov, a tsunami threat was declared in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Residents were requested to stay clear of coastlines. Authorities have stated that a tsunami wave 3-4 meters high has been recorded in the Yelizovo District of Kamchatka.

Earlier in July, five powerful quakes, the largest with a magnitude of 7.4, struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000.

On Nov. 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.