Powerful 6.8 earthquake rocks Russia’s Kamchatka as fears of aftershocks grow
In a significant seismic event, the National Centre of Meteorology in the UAE has confirmed a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Kamchatka, Russia on July 22, 2025. This marks the fourth quake to hit the region recently, with the latest tremor o...
By Global Desk | Updated:
Earthquake report shared using its National Seismic Networkby the National Center of Meteorology, UAE
The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) of UAE has reported an earthquake in Kamchatka, Russia. This is the fourth reported earthquake in Russia, with a 7.4 magnitude earthquake recorded on Sunday, July 20.
Kamchatka, Russia experienced a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on July 22, 2025, at 05:59 local time (UAE time). NCM data indicates that the earthquake happened 59 km below the surface.
The largest earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4, and occurred in the adjacent sea, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) reports that there is no longer a risk of tsunami waves on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, two days before on Sunday, July 20.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the alert was issued earlier Sunday after the quakes were detected near the Russian Pacific coast.
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USGS’ tectonic summary of the earthquakes
USGS' tectonic summary from its website states cause of earthquake as:
The July 20, 2025, M7.4 earthquake east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, occurred as the result of reverse faulting at a depth of about 20 km. At the location of this earthquake, the Pacific plate is moving west-northwest with respect to the North America plate at about 77 mm/yr. Note, the North American plate extends westward beyond the North American continent. The earthquake’s location and sense of motion is consistent with the faulting on the subduction zone plate interface of the Kuril-Kamchatka Arc.
While commonly plotted as points on maps, earthquakes of this size are more appropriately described as slip over a larger fault area. Reverse faulting events of the size of the July 20, 2025, earthquake are typically about 60 km by 35 km in size (length x width).
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The Kuril-Kamchatka arc has frequent moderate-to-large earthquakes and has hosted 29 additional M 6.5+ events within 250 km of the July 20, 2025, earthquake over the preceding century. The July 20, 2025, earthquake is located roughly 73 km northeast of the 1952 M 9.0 Kamchatka earthquake, which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami.
