Powerful Earthquake off the Coast of Kamchatka Triggers Tsunami Threat

An earthquake struck off the coast of Russia’s Far East during the night of July 30. According to the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it was the strongest since 1952. The service’s Telegram channel reported that the quake had a magnitude of 8.7. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude at 8.8. According to American seismologists, the earthquake occurred about 136 kilometers off the eastern coast of Kamchatka at a depth of 19.3 kilometers.

As a result of waves triggered by the quake, the port in Russia’s Severo-Kurilsk was partially flooded, according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. In Kamchatka, part of a kindergarten facade collapsed in the regional capital, but no injuries were reported. The city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is not under tsunami threat, said Kamchatka’s Emergency Situations Minister Sergey Lebedev.

Tsunami warnings were issued for the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands in the United States. In Hawaii, authorities ordered the evacuation of certain areas, according to Reuters. Residents of the state capital, Honolulu, were urged to leave parts of the city or move to the fourth floor of a building.

A tsunami warning is also in effect for coastal areas of Japan. The country’s Meteorological Agency warned of possible waves up to one meter high. According to Kyodo News, some train services in eastern Japan were suspended.