One of the tsunamis dragged the ships that were anchored to the sea
A strong earthquake of magnitude 8.8 reached the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia on Wednesday, causing tsunamis in the country and Japan and the emission of alerts in many countries bathed by the Pacific.
In the city of Severo-Kourilsk, in the north of the Russian Curil Islands archipelago, several tsunamis flooded the streets and part of the two thousand inhabitants were removed, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The state of emergency was declared in that area.
“Tsunami’s fourth wave is coming. The wave is very large, everything is flooded, the whole coast is flooded,” witnessed a inhabitant in a video published by the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
According to the mayor of the city, quoted by the Russian state agency Tass, one of the tsunamis dragged to the sea the ships that were anchored.
According to the United States Geological Institute (USGS), the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale occurred around 00:25 from Lisbon, 20.7 kilometers deep, 126 kilometers from the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky coast in the Far East Russian.
The place where the earthquake was registered (Getty Images)
This magnitude has been the strongest registered in Kamchatka since November 5, 1952, when a magnitude 9 earthquake, which occurred practically in the same place, provoked devastating tsunamis throughout the Pacific Ocean.
Kamchatka’s seismological service warned that replicas of up to 7.5 are expected.
In Japan, images on television showed people to drive or walk to higher areas, especially on the island of Hokkaido, in the north of the country, where a first tsunami was observed 30 centimeters high.
Fukushima (North) nuclear central employees, destroyed by a strong earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, were removed, the infrastructure operator said.
“Do not venture into the sea and do not approach the coast until the warning is lifted,” said the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), which foresees waves of three meters.
“The inhabitants of the regions where alerts were issued should be immediately withdrawn to safe places, high areas or evacuation buildings,” Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi insisted.
The Japanese alert covers the entire north and east coast of the archipelago, to south of Osaka, as well as the small peripheral islands. Also, in Tokyo and Osaka bays, tsunami can reach a meter.
China has issued tsunami alert to various areas of the coast. The Philippines also urged the inhabitants of the east coast to move inside and advised the fishermen who are already in the sea to remain deeply.
The same message was broadcast on Hawaii, in the United States, threatened by waves of three meters or more. “People should not, and repeat once again, should not, as we have seen in the past, stay close to the coast or risk life just to see what a tsunami is like,” said state governor Josh Green.
HNL Alert: 08:16 PM 07-29-2025 – HNL Alert: Tsunami Warning 8:15PM UPDATE – Take Action NOW! Tsunami waves are currently impacting Hawaii. Info: Remain outside evacuation zones. Map at .
— Oahu Emergency Mgmt. (@Oahu_DEM)
Also Peru and Mexico declared Tsunami’s warning to the coast, as well as Ecuador, who evacuated the beaches and ports of the Galapagos archipelago.
Tsunamis one to three meters are also possible in Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia and other archipelagos.
The United States issued a series of alerts of different levels along the west coast from Alaska to the entire California coast.
