A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early Wednesday, ranking among the strongest ever recorded and triggering widespread evacuations and tsunami warnings across the Pacific region.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake, centered 75 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of 13 miles, struck at 11:24 a.m. local time, tying it for the sixth-strongest earthquake in history, alongside events in Chile in 2010 and Ecuador and Colombia in 1906.
The earthquake, occurring along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” caused immediate alarm in Kamchatka’s sparsely populated coastal areas. Russia’s Oceanology Institute estimated tsunami waves may have reached 30 to 50 feet in remote sections of the peninsula, though waves near populated areas, including Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, were under 20 feet.
“Several people were injured while rushing to leave buildings,” said Oleg Melnikov, head of Kamchatka’s regional health department, adding that all injuries were stable.
A kindergarten under renovation in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky sustained damage, but no major structural losses were reported.
In the nearby Kuril Islands, tsunami waves up to 13 feet flooded the fishing port of Severo-Kurilsk, cutting power supplies and prompting a state of emergency. The port’s mayor reported no significant damage, but nearly 300 residents were evacuated.
A Russian media video captured doctors at a Kamchatka cancer clinic stabilizing a patient and medical equipment during the quake before resuming surgery.
Authorities later canceled tsunami warnings for Kamchatka and the Kurils but maintained advisories due to potential lingering wave risks.
The quake also triggered volcanic activity, with lava flowing from Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the Northern Hemisphere’s largest active volcano, accompanied by explosions, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences’ geophysical service.
Multiple aftershocks, the strongest reaching 6.9 magnitude, further rattled the region.
The earthquake’s effects extended beyond Russia, with tsunami warnings issued for Japan, Hawaii, and South America’s Pacific coast. Japan recorded waves up to 2 feet in Hokkaido and Iwate, with residents evacuating to hilltops. Hawaii saw waves of 5.7 feet in Maui and later downgraded to a tsunami advisory.
Chile and Colombia ordered coastal evacuations, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric warning, per The Associated Press, “The first wave is usually not the strongest.”
In the U.S., Crescent City, California, reported waves of 3.6 feet.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, speaking from Chile, noted, “We were fully deployed and ready to respond if necessary but grateful that we didn’t have to deal with the situation that this could have been,” the AP reported.
While the quake’s global reach prompted widespread concern, Russia’s Far East bore the brunt of the initial impact. Authorities continue to monitor for aftershocks and volcanic activity as the region assesses the full scope of the event.