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Tsunami Waves Reach Hawaii, West Coast After 8.8 Earthquake Off Russia

Tsunami Waves Reach Hawaii, West Coast After 8.8 Earthquake Off Russia

It’s the sixth strongest earthquake on record.
Posted by Wednesday, July 30, 2025 at 09:00am

A powerful earthquake, measured at 8.8 on the Richter Scale, struck the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday. The seismic event triggered tsunami alerts for the entire U.S. West Coast and prompting evacuation warnings in Hawaii.

The earthquake was recorded at 7:24 p.m. ET, about 78 miles east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said in its updated assessment. The agency said the quake was shallow, at a depth of about 11 miles.

A tsunami warning was in place for Hawaii and along Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands. A tsunami could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in Hawaii, the weather service said, adding “urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.”

A tsunami is a long series of waves that may extensively flood coastal areas and present dangers that could continue for many hours after the initial waves arrive. All shores are at risk in Hawaii no matter which direction they face.

Residents in the Aleutian Islands were advised to move out of the water and away from beaches, harbors, marines and inlets. Tsunamis can generate strong waves and currents, with waves that may last up to 45 minutes as it encroaches and recedes, the warning center stated. Coasts facing all directions are threatened because the waves can wrap around islands and headlands and into bays.

Tsunami waves had been reported along the Russian coast, and Japan ordered some evacuations as it anticipated waves of approximately 10 feet to reach its shores.

A tsunami with a height of 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) was recorded in parts of Kamchatka, Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, said, urging people to move away from the shoreline of the peninsula.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centered about 125 km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 along the coast of Avacha Bay. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier.

A volcano in the area erupted later Tuesday night.

The Japan Weather Agency upgraded its warning, saying it expected tsunami waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT. The country’s public broadcaster NHK said evacuation orders had been issued by the government for some areas.

Factory workers and residents in Japan’s northern Hokkaido evacuated to a hill overlooking the ocean, footage from broadcaster TBS showed.

Tsunami waves reached Japan within several hours. One man described them on X as “massive.”

Another reported that “at least 4 whales have washed up along the coast of Japan” and “civilians [were] seen on top of [a] building in Hokkaido, Japan.”

Bracing for the worst, Hawaii fared far better than expected.

Fox News reported:

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center late Tuesday downgraded a tsunami warning in Hawaii to a “tsunami advisory” officials said.

The PTWC says it is continuing to monitor data to update its forecast and for an “all clear” that they may issue later on, Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan said at a press conference shared by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

An advisory means the potential for strong currents or dangerous waves are expected or are occurring for those in or near the water, Logan said.

https://twitter.com/NotTheirScript/status/1950407037952630927

Tsunami waves were projected to hit California shortly after midnight.

Shortly before 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s office in Eureka, California, reported, “Tsunami activity is continuing to build this morning as we approach the 4 AM minor high tide.” The service confirmed maximum wave heights so far of 3.6 feet in Crescent City, 3 feet in Arena Cove, and 1.2 feet in Humboldt Bay.

The earthquake’s epicenter was offshore, approximately 85 miles (136 kilometers) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and at a shallow depth of about 12 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

This area, specifically around the Kamchatka Trench, is where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the North American Plate, making it prone to massive earthquakes and tsunamis. This region was also responsible for the recent seismic event (7.3 Richter Scale) in Alaska that triggered tsunami alerts.

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Comments

rhhardin | July 30, 2025 at 9:51 am

Tsunamis are usually disappointing.

destroycommunism | July 30, 2025 at 10:05 am

putin might want to re=think pissing off djt

Martin | July 30, 2025 at 11:38 am

THIS IS THE 6TH STRONGEST RECORDED #EARTHQUAKE EVER TO HIT THE PLANET!

So EVAAARRRR is 90 years since the Richter scale was invented in 1935. Possible less since it probably took a while for instruments to be put in enough locations with enough sensitivity to detect them all.

I hate the presentism of our times.

    henrybowman in reply to Martin. | July 30, 2025 at 2:30 pm

    Aw, give the Democrats their “record” “firsts,”
    It’s really the only thing they have left.
    They’re not even going to be the first US political party to collapse.

MAJack | July 30, 2025 at 12:58 pm

I’m sure CNN and MSNBC are formulating a plan to blame Trump for this.

    BobM in reply to MAJack. | July 30, 2025 at 1:54 pm

    OC – because Trump actually (instead of only pretending to) supports The Jews – so obviously he’s partly to blame for enabling them building their awesome new Earthquake Machine to supplement their Orbital Mind Control Lasers.

    navyvet in reply to MAJack. | July 30, 2025 at 3:36 pm

    I understand a district court judge in California has issued a TRO preventing any tsunami-type activity from occurring as a result of this earthquake.

    In addition, this judge is enjoining G-d from causing any additional earthquakes for 90 days.

BobM | July 30, 2025 at 1:58 pm

Did anyone else notice the time-lapse simulation video in the main post of the tsunami’s path showed it originating off the coast of Japan instead of Russia Kamchatka? Did someone not know their Pacific geography?

    henrybowman in reply to BobM. | July 30, 2025 at 2:32 pm

    Or too cheap to commission a new animation and reused an old one. After all, that’s where all the good ones usually originate,

henrybowman | July 30, 2025 at 2:34 pm

Loved Trump’s tweet. A finger in the eye of the idiots who were screaming that Trumps NOAA cuts — which hadn’t even happened yet — were responsible for the Kerrville tragedy, No problem — Trump will now PERSONALLY advise us of upcoming natural disasters.

Paula | July 30, 2025 at 3:09 pm

Well, that was a big tsunami, but not as big as the one that hit the USA when Trump was elected.

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