8.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Kamchatka Causes Pacific-Wide Tsunamis

On July 30, 2025, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, ranking among the strongest ever recorded globally and tying for the sixth-largest since 1900. The quake, which occurred along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," triggered tsunami waves up to 50 feet in remote areas and caused widespread evacuations across the Pacific region, including parts of Japan and Alaska. The seismic event caused injuries, structural damage in Kamchatka's coastal towns, and a state of emergency in the Kuril Islands due to flooding from tsunami waves. The earthquake also activated volcanic activity at Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the Northern Hemisphere's largest active volcano, and generated multiple aftershocks, with the strongest reaching a magnitude of 6.9. The quake originated from a subduction zone fault that had previously produced a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in 1952 and involved a rupture of hundreds of kilometers with significant ground displacement. Extensive monitoring recorded the tremors thousands of miles away, including in Wisconsin, demonstrating the earthquake's global impact and magnitude.