On Wednesday Morning a DESTRUCTIVE M8.8 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 127km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 29th, 2025. Last updated September 27th, 2025.

In the morning of Wednesday July 30th, 2025, a DESTRUCTIVE and extreme MAG-8.8 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 127 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, 71 kilometers (44 mi) off the coast of Russia, 127 kilometer east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Kamchatka. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 30, 2025 11:24 (Kamchatka Time) - Jul 29, 2025 23:24 Universal Time.
Location:	127 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka, Russia. Coordinates 52°29'53"N 160°15'49"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 8.8 Detected by 32 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.018 .
Depth:	35 km (22 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IX Violent 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:

At least 4 persons injured, 55 homes and several buildings damaged in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky area. At least 106 buildings damaged in Sakhalin Oblast; and several port structures destroyed by the tsunami. The harbor at Crescent City, CA was damaged by the tsunami. The earthquake is reported to have induced the eruption of 7 volcanoes in Kamchatka.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 40% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 fatalities, and a 99% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level RED (high). They expect an 37% likelyhood of between 10,000 and 100,000 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 99% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 100 and 10,000,000 million USD.

Roughly 300 thousand people exposed to shaking

An estimated 300 thousand have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IX, which corresponds with violent shaking and likely heavy damage. Roughly 1,800 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level VII was experienced by the majority of people (around 210 thousand). In their region, 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 . Located 127 kilometer (79 mi) east-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatka, Russia) is the nearest significant population center. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VIII. That level implies severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IX.

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 109 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 109 people have reported shaking in 21 places in 2 countries (Russia, Japan).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Petropavlovsk-Kamčatskij, Kamčatka, Russia: 63 people.
• Mohovaja, Kamčatka, Russia: 10 people.
• Severo-Kurilsk, Sahalin, Russia: 6 people.
• Tokyo, Tokio, Japan: 5 people.
• Jelizovo, Kamčatka, Russia: 4 people.
• Sobolevo, Kamčatka, Russia: 3 people.
• Milkovo, Kamčatka, Russia: 3 people.
• Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: 2 people.
• Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan: 1 person.
• Ust-Kamčatsk, Kamčatka, Russia: 1 person.

366 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 366 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 46 km (29 mi) southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 45 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 6.9

In the days before this main shock, 6 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 day earlier. It measured a magnitude of 5.1

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

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 8.8 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 27/09/25 13:08 (). 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 us6000qw60
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250729_0000311
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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