On Sunday Evening a DESTRUCTIVE M7.4 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 147km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 20th, 2025. Last updated September 18th, 2025.

In the evening of Sunday July 20th, 2025, a DESTRUCTIVE and very strong MAG-7.4 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 147 kilometer from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 88 kilometers (54 mi) off the coast of Russia, 147 kilometer east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 34 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 20, 2025 18:49 (Kamchatka Time) - Jul 20, 2025 06:49 Universal Time.
Location:	147 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 52°49'38"N 160°47'27"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.4 Detected by 42 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.048 .
Depth:	34 km (21 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Significant impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

Some buildings damaged in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky area. A tsunami with a maximum wave height of 1.53 m was reported in the Khalaktyrka River mouth area.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 44% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 fatalities, and a 95% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 100.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level RED (high). They expect an 42% likelyhood of between 1,000 and 10,000 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 95% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 100 and 10,000,000 million USD.

Roughly 270 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 270 thousand people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 197,600 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Russia .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Russia . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka, Russia. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located 147 kilometer (91 mi) east of the epicenter. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VIII. That level implies severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VIII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 16 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 16 people have reported shaking in 3 places, all within Russia.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Mohovaja, Kamčatka, Russia: 6 people.
• Petropavlovsk-Kamčatskij, Kamčatka, Russia: 5 people.
• Jelizovo, Kamčatka, Russia: 5 people.

327 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 327 smaller aftershocks. A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 34 mins later 5 km (3 mi) north of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 7 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 21 mins before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-6.6 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 7.4 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 18/09/25 06:48 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000qdyl
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250720_0000072
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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