Strong quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunamis

FE Team | Published: July 30, 2025 23:25:15

MOSCOW, July 30 (AFP): One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four metres (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.
The magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Petropavlovsk on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and was the largest since 2011 when one of magnitude 9.1 off Japan caused a tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people.
Almost two million people in Japan were told to head to higher ground and tsunami warnings were issued across the region, before being rescinded or downgraded -- though scientists warned of the danger of powerful aftershocks.
While the immediate area around the quake seemed to have been spared, people on the other side of the Pacific were gearing up for the impact of a tsunami expected to hit overnight.
Ecuador's Galapagos Islands off the west coast of South America closed visitor sites and schools, ushering tourists to dry land as a precaution.
"The boats haven't gone out to fish," said a fisherwoman in Puerto Ayora on the islands who did not want to be named.