The Daily Populous Wednesday July 30th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by NewSlinger

A camera captured the eruption of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano.

Police officers ask a man to evacuate an empty beach due to a tsunami warning in Fujisawa city, Kanagawa prefecture on July 30, 2025.

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Pacific coast, triggering tsunami warnings and evacuations of coastal areas in Hawaii and alerts along the United States' West Coast.

The intense quake -- about 85 miles off the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula -- was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, and the world's largest since 2011.

An 8.7 magnitude earthquake near Russia prompts tsunami alerts along the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii. NOAA

In the U.S., initial tsunami waves washed ashore on Hawaii's island of Oahu, sending people scrambling to evacuate.

Residents were urged to leave beaches and low-lying areas for higher ground and to take shelter on at least the fourth floor of a building. Sirens sounded across the Hawaiian islands 10 minutes after each hour for the three hours leading up to the expected impact as a part of a statewide warning system.

Honolulu residents buy supplies amid a tsunami warning in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 29, 2025. Marco Garcia/Reuters

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told reporters early Wednesday that the state had so far "not seen a wave of consequence," calling it a "great relief," though he warned there could be more waves. He said high waves could knock down utility poles and scatter debris.

Other parts of the Pacific U.S. -- coastal areas of Alaska, Oregon, Washington and California -- were also placed under tsunami advisories.

Tsunami waves were recorded in Monterey, California, and San Francisco overnight, but none caused significant issues.

A a fisherman stands on the beach, after authorities warned residents of the possibility of tsunami waves, following an earthquake at Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, in San Francisco, California, July 30, 2025. Carlos Barria/Reuters

In California, tsunami advisories remain in effect in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and have been discontinued in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

But "whether an advisory is in effect or not, stay out of the water and harbors as currents will be strong," the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned.

The U.S. territories of Guam and American Samoa were also put under tsunami advisories.

All tsunami warnings have since been discontinued in the U.S. Crescent City, which is along the coast by the California/Oregon border, was the final U.S. location to discontinue its tsunami warning on Wednesday morning. Officials there said wave activity peaked at about 3.5 feet and there were no reports of any injuries.

The quake also impacted travel; Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines said they would resume flights on Wednesday morning after a pause due to the tsunami warnings.

Tsunami warnings and alerts around the world

The full extent of the impact of the quake is not yet known.

This video grab from a drone handout footage released by Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences on July 30, 2025, shows the tsunami-hit Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir island of Russia's northern Kuril islands. Handout/Geophysical Service of the Russia/AFP via Getty Images

In Russia, a camera captured the eruption of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano -- the highest mountain in the region -- sending hot lava down its western slope.

The quake led to a tsunami warning for all of northern Japan, forcing more than 2 million people to evacuate.

Japan's meteorological agency warned that a tsunami about 3 feet high was expected to reach Hokkaido. The Japan Meteorological Agency later revised tsunami warnings to lower level advisories, but said people should still exercise caution.

Police officers ask a man to evacuate an empty beach due to a tsunami warning in Fujisawa city, Kanagawa prefecture on July 30, 2025. Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images

Elsewhere in the Pacific region, French Polynesia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, the Cook Islands, Nauru, Australia and the Philippines issued various levels of tsunami alerts, plus warnings of expected strong currents and possible flooding.

In Central and South America, tsunami warnings or watches were put in place Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia.

ABC News' William Gretsky, Anthony Trotter, Mireya Villarreal, Tanya Stukalova, Clark Bentson and Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.

NewSlinger on July 30th, 2025 at 01:03 UTC »

This is tied for the 7th magnitude earthquake in recorded history.

SuperSan93 on July 30th, 2025 at 00:59 UTC »

Just got the emergency alert in Japan. Sirens were blaring. 3m tsunami predicted in some parts. They’re not taken lightly here but after 2011 a lot of protections were put in place to minimize risk as much as possible.

bonyponyride on July 30th, 2025 at 00:52 UTC »

Breaking news from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:

> A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY.

https://www.tsunami.gov/events/PHEB/2025/07/29/25210002/3/WEHW40/WEHW40.txt

Earthquake has been updated to magnitude 8.8!

This is tied for the 6th most powerful earthquake in recorded history:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes#Strongest_earthquakes_by_magnitude

TSUNAMI REPORTED: 3-4 meter tsunami has been observed along the Russian coast. IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA, GET TO HIGHER GROUND

Here's the newly generated and often updated wikipedia page for this event:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Kamchatka_Peninsula_earthquake