Tsunami alert after powerful earthquakes hit Russia’s Pacific coast

 Three earthquakes, one with a magnitude of 7.4, recorded near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, capital of Russia’s Kamchatka region.

At least three powerful earthquakes, one measuring magnitude 7.4, were recorded within a span of 30 minutes off Russia's Pacific coast city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on Sunday [File: AFP]

Published On 20 Jul 202520 Jul 2025

A tsunami warning has been issued after three earthquakes, including the strongest magnitude 7.4 quake, were recorded off the Pacific coast of Russia, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The epicentres of a series of earthquakes – the others measuring 6.7 and 5 – on Sunday were about 140km (87 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, capital of Russia’s Kamchatka region, which has a population of more than 160,000.

According to the USGS, the quakes hit the same area off the coast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky within 32 minutes.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake was at a depth of 20km (12 miles). There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat for parts of Russia. A separate tsunami watch issued for the state of Hawaii was later lifted.

Germany’s GFZ monitor also confirmed that at least one magnitude 6.7 earthquake was recorded off the east of Kamchatka region on Sunday. GFZ later updated it to magnitude 7.4.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located in the Kamchatka region, facing the Pacific, northeast of Japan and west of the US state of Alaska, across the Bering Sea.

The Kamchatka Peninsula is the meeting point of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, making it a seismic hot zone. Since 1900, seven major earthquakes of magnitude 8.3 or higher have struck the area.

On November 4, 1952, a magnitude 9 earthquake in Kamchatka caused damage, but no deaths were reported despite setting off 9.1-metre (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.