A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Kamchatka early on July 30, 2025, initially estimated at 8.0 then upgraded twice to 8.8 by the USGS Al Jazeera+15Anadolu Ajansı+15AP News+15.
The epicenter was located approximately 119–136 km east‑southeast of Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatsky, at a shallow depth between 19 and 20.7 km Reddit+14The Week+14Anadolu Ajansı+14.
The quake occurred along the Kuril–Kamchatka arc, one of the Pacific Ring of Fire’s most seismically active zones Al Jazeera.
This is the strongest earthquake in the region since 1952, when a magnitude ~9.0 event off Severo‑Kurilsk produced 9 m tsunamis (killing over 2,300 people) WTOP News+15Wikipedia+15The Wall Street Journal+15.
Globally, it’s among the top ten most powerful recorded earthquakes, comparable to the 2011 Tōhoku quake (M9.0) The WeekSky News.
Local Impacts (Kamchatka & Kuril Islands)
Severo‑Kurilsk on Paramushir Island saw heavy tsunami flooding; residents were evacuated and around 2,000 people moved to safety https://www.newschannel6now.com.
Tsunami waves up to 4 m (≈13 ft) were observed locally, significantly impacting ports and coastal infrastructure The Wall Street Journal.
In Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatsky, houses shook, mirrors broke, cars swayed, cabinets fell, and mobile and power outages occurred. Several minor injuries reported; a kindergarten wall collapsed—fortunately no casualties El País+10The Week+10Sky News+10.
Evacuations were ordered on nearby Sakhalin Island and emergency services surged into action https://www.29news.com+2The Week+2News on Air+2.
Tsunami Alerts & Wave Recording