A powerful **8.8-magnitude earthquake** struck off Kamchatka on July 30, 2025—making it one of the **top ten strongest quakes ever recorded**. The USGS first measured it at 8.0 before upgrading it. The quake’s epicenter was about 120 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of \~20 km, along the seismically active Kuril–Kamchatka arc.

This is the region’s **most powerful quake since 1952**, when a \~9.0 magnitude event caused 9 m tsunamis and killed over 2,300 people.

**Local impacts** included 4 m tsunami waves hitting Severo-Kurilsk, where \~2,000 residents were evacuated. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky reported power outages, collapsed walls, and minor injuries.

**Tsunami alerts** were issued across the Pacific. In Japan, 900,000 to 1.9 million people were evacuated. Waves up to 50 cm reached Hokkaido. Fukushima nuclear plant evacuated 4,000 staff as a precaution.

In the **U.S.**, Hawaii saw 1.2 m waves, prompting flight and port suspensions. California and Alaska issued coastal warnings, with waves up to 1.7 m expected in some areas.

Alerts extended to Chile, Peru, Taiwan, the Philippines, and more, though impacts were mostly minor. Aftershocks of **6.9 and 6.3** followed, and experts warn of more quakes up to **7.5** in the coming weeks.