A tsunami sent waves into parts of Japan, Hawaii and the US after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the Russian Far East on Wednesday.
The quake was one of the biggest ever recorded. Several people were injured, but none gravely. No major damage has been reported.
The danger appeared to be subsiding in most places, but Chile kept alerts at the highest level for most of its lengthy Pacific coast while New Zealand renewed a warning to avoid the water.
Japan was one of the last countries to rescind the emergency order earlier today.
Almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground in Japan before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast,
One person died and 10 others, most of them in Hokkaido, were injured while heading shelter following the tsunami alert in Japan.
A woman in her 50s died after falling from a cliffside road while driving to an evacuation center in central Japan's Mie Prefecture.
Authorities in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru this morning dropped the tsunami alerts.
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Key Points
- Tunami alerts lowered in much of South America
- Evacuations remain in place for Chile
- Volcano in Russia begins to erupt after earthquake
- Waves reach US west coast
- One woman dies in tsunami in Japan
Japan lifts tsunami advisory
00:00
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Rebecca Whittaker
Japan’s weather office has lifted a tsunami advisory imposed a day earlier after a major earthquake in pacific Russia.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a statement lifting the advisory on Thursday afternoon (07.45am local time).
“There is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force,” the Japanese agency announced.
Almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground in Japan before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast.
One woman died and a further 10 were injured as they rushed for shelter.
Where the 8.8 magnitude earthquake ranks in history
23:00
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Rebecca Whittaker
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday, making it the sixth strongest ever recorded and the biggest since the 2011 quake that hit Japan.
This is how it compares:
1. Biobío, Chile
A 9.5 magnitude earthquake struck in a central region of Chile in 1960.
2. Alaska
In 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the Alaska's Prince William Sound, lasting for almost 5 minutes.
3. Sumatra, Indonesia
A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated Southeast and South Asia and East Africa in 2004, killing 230,000 people.
4. Tohoku, Japan
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan in 2011, triggering a towering tsunami that smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant.
5. Kamchatka, Russia
In 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake caused significant damage but no reported deaths
6. Biobío, Chile
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Chile in 2010, shaking the capital for a minute and half and setting off a tsunami.
7. Esmeraldas, Ecuador
In 1906, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami killed about 1,500 people.
8. Alaska
In 1965, a magnitude 8.7 quake struck Alaska's Rat Islands, causing an 11-meter (35-foot) -high tsunami.
9. Tibet
At least 780 people were killed when a magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck in 1950.
10. Sumatra, Indonesia
In 2012, a powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra in Indonesia.
Japanese woman evacuating amid tsunami warning dies after car falls off road
22:00
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Bryony Gooch
How does this compare to the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami?
21:00
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Bryony Gooch
It already appears the waves following the Russian earthquake are nowhere near as powerful as the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia, causing waves that levelled remote villages, ports and tourist resorts along the Indian Ocean across Southeast and South Asia. Some 230,000 people died as waves up to 40m tall hit shorelines.
“What we're seeing now so far is the maximum expected and the maximum observed is just higher than a bungalow, about 3 m,” explains Professor Ilan Kelman from UCL. “Most places are experiencing between 1m and 2m, which is sort of our height, how tall we are. They still kill.”
While an 8.8 magnitude earthquake appears on par with a 9.1 magnitude disaster, professor Kelman explains that there is a huge power disparity between the two.
“The scale is not a straight line, it's actually a logarithm. The more you go up, the faster it gets more powerful,” he says. “So the difference between eight and nine is actually a tenfold difference in power.”
Mapped: Where Chile remains under caution for tsunamis
20:00
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Bryony Gooch
In pictures: Chilean harbours cope with tsunami
19:00
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Bryony Gooch
Watch: Drone footage shows tsunami waves flooding Russian coastal town following earthquake
18:00
,
Bryony Gooch
What is a tsunami and what should I do if I get an emergency alert?
17:00
,
Bryony Gooch
Mapped: New Zealand's tsunami advisory threats
16:30
,
Bryony Gooch
The impact of the quake and tsunami on Kamchatka
16:00
,
Bryony Gooch
The 8.8-magnitude quake, centered about 120 kilometres (75 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, struck at 11:24 a.m. local time (2324 GMT Tuesday, 7:24 p.m. EDT Tuesday) at a depth of about 21 kilometers (13 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.
The earthquake appeared to be the strongest on record since the 9.1 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami.
Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured anywhere.
Authorities on Kamchatka and the Kurils said they were prepared for a major quake for a long time and acted quickly to protect the population.
Officials on Kamchatka said several people were injured, including a hospital patient injured while jumping out of a window. All were in satisfactory condition.
Municipal workers inspected hundreds of apartment buildings but didn't find any signficant damage that would warrant evacuating residents.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was protected from big tsunami waves by its location on Avacha Bay.
In Severo-Kurilsk, the Kurils' main city, tsunami waves as high as 6 meters (over 3 feet) flooded the fishing port and swept fishing boats out to sea
Japan lifts tsunami advisory
15:30
,
Bryony Gooch
Japan’s weather office has lifted a tsunami advisory imposed a day earlier after a major earthquake in pacific Russia.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a statement lifting the advisory on Thursday afternoon (07.45am local time).
“There is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force,” the Japanese agency announced.
Almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground in Japan before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast.
One woman died and a further 10 were injured as they rushed for shelter.
Here is what to know about the Russian areas hit by the quake and tsunami
15:00
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Bryony Gooch
Kamchatka is one of the most active volcanic regions on Earth.
It has about 300 volcanoes, with 29 of them still active, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. Quakes and tsunamis regularly strike the peninsula that lies close to an ocean trench where two tectonic plates meet.
The 1,200-kilometre-long peninsula nine time zones east of Moscow faces the Pacific Ocean on its east and the Sea of Okhotsk along its west coast.
The tallest volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4,750 meters or 15,584 feet), the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere. Observers heard explosions and saw streams of lava on its western slopes, according to the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ geophysical service.
Scientists have anticipated the eruption for some time, with the volcano’s crater filling with lava for weeks and the mountain emitting plumes of ash. It last erupted in 2023.
Watch: Panicked sea lions dive into water during huge Russia earthquake
14:30
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Bryony Gooch
Japanese woman evacuating amid tsunami warning dies after car falls off road
14:00
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Bryony Gooch
How did Russia’s ‘land of ice and fire’ avoid major damage from 8.8 earthquake and tsunami?
13:30
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Bryony Gooch
Mapped: Where Chile remains under caution for tsunamis
13:15
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Bryony Gooch
Chile evacuates prisons and health facilities
13:00
,
Bryony Gooch
Chile evacuated five penitentiary facilities between the regions of Arica and Parinacota and Los Lagos.
It also evacuated 33 health facilities in the Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, O'Higgins, Maule, Biobío, La Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Los Lagos regions located in the flood zone were evacuated (308 patients in total). Similarly, immunobiological stockpiles (vaccines and immunoglobulin) in the municipalities of Lebu and Talcahuano in the Biobío Region were moved to a safe area.
Operations are suspended at all ports from the Arica Region to the San Antonio Region; and no ships are operating in Talcahuano.
Watch: Tsunami mapped: Hawaii and California warnings issued after massive earthquake
12:30
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Bryony Gooch
What is a tsunami?
12:00
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Bryony Gooch
A tsunami is a series of waves that are generated by a large displacement of the ocean, often caused by large-scale disturbances like earthquakes or volanic eruptions under the sea.
“In this case, we’ve got an earthquake,” professor Ilan Kelman, specialising in disasters and health at University College London explained.
“So when the earthquake shakes the earth, let's say it moves up and down on the sea floor. That means that there's a quick movement of water moving up and down, which creates a wave that radiates out from where the earth shook.”
As the waves travel inland and the depth of the ocean decreases, the waves build up in height. The speed of the waves is determined by the depth of the ocean rather than the source, the US National Ocean Service explained.
Tsunami mapped: Hawaii and California warnings issued after massive earthquake
11:40
,
Bryony Gooch
In pictures: People visit Heisaura Beach after tsunami in Japan
11:20
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Bryony Gooch
New Zealand national advisory to remain overnight
11:07
,
Bryony Gooch
Due to rebounding tsunami activity from South America, the east coast of both the North and South Islands in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands remain under a National Advisory, and are likely to remain so overnight.
The remainder of the West Coast of the South Island and Cook Strait that remain under a Beach and Marine Tsunami threat are assessed as only just reaching the threshold for a Beach and Marine Tsunami threat.
Damage and minor injuries reported in Russian Far East
11:00
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Bryony Gooch
Local authorities on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula said several people were injured during the massive quake, but didn't give an exact number.
Oleg Melnikov, head of the regional health department, said a few people hurt themselves while rushing to leave buildings and a hospital patient received an injury while jumping out of a window. Melnikov said that all injured people were in satisfactory condition.
A video released by Russian media outlet showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room, before continuing with surgery after the shaking stopped. Officials said the doctors will receive decorations.
In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka's regional capital, the quake damaged a local kindergarten, which was not in operation due to ongoing repair work.
Tsunami threat to US 'has passed completely'
10:45
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Bryony Gooch
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the threat of a major tsunami hitting the United States "has passed completely."
Noem, speaking in Chile where she is attending meetings with officials, told reporters in the capital, Santiago: "We're in really good shape right now. 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."
In pictures: Colombia's Puente Nayero neighbourhood during tsunami
10:30
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Bryony Gooch
Alaska remains unaffected by tsunamis
10:15
,
Bryony Gooch
Alaska “didn’t feel a thing” amid threats of tsunamis yesterday.
A spokesperson for Alaska's state emergency management agency, Jeremy Zidek, said that no damage has been reported.
The community of Adak recorded the largest tsunami wave in Alaska at 2.7 feet, or less than a meter.
“I think what really surprised us, given the magnitude of that earthquake on Kamchatka, is that we didn't feel a thing,” Adak City Manager Breck Craig said. “The bad thing is, that it might be our turn next.”
Watch: Hawaii beachgoers evacuate amid tsunami warnings
09:59
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Bryony Gooch
What is a tsunami and what should I do if I get an emergency alert?
09:30
,
Bryony Gooch
In pictures: Waves hit boats in Chile during tsunami advisory
09:15
,
Bryony Gooch
New Zealand tsunami advisory remains in place
09:03
,
Bryony Gooch
New Zealand has kept tsunami advisory in place as “strong and unusual currents on the eastern side” may be present for another 24 hours.
Due to rebounding tsunami activity from South America, the east coast of both the North and South Islands and the Chatham Islands remain under a National Advisory, and are likely to remain so overnight.
The West Coast of the South Island, and Cook Strait, meet the threshold for the National Advisory to remain in place however, the tsunami activity threat is at the low end of the scale.
One woman dies in tsunami in Japan
08:55
,
Bryony Gooch
A woman in Japan has died during the tsunami, according to chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
The woman, in her fifties, died after her car fell off the cliff while evacuating to higher ground in central Japan's Mie Prefecture.
A further 10 people were injured as they rushed to shelter in Hokkaido.
Separately, 11 people were taken to hospital after developing symptoms of heatstroke while taking shelter in hot weather, with temperatures rising to around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some places.
A tiny California city prone to tsunamis saw the highest waves in US
08:00
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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A small California coastal city near the border with Oregon that has recorded dozens of tsunamis, including one that killed 11 people more than 60 years ago, saw little damage Wednesday as locals returned to their routines amid sunny skies in the town known as a tsunami magnet.
Crescent City recorded waves of up to 4ft early Wednesday — the highest recorded anywhere in the continental United States following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake centered off the coast of Russia's Far East hours earlier. Still, those were far smaller than the 21ft waves caused by the deadly 1964 tsunami.
This time, no one was injured in the city of 6,600 and there was no major flooding, with downtown open later Wednesday morning. A dock at the city’s harbor was damaged, and officials warned people to stay away from beaches and waterways.
How did Russia avoid major damage from earthquake and tsunami?
07:45
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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A powerful earthquake struck on Wednesday off Russia’s Far East coast, flooding a fishing port with waves from a tsunami, cutting power to a few areas and sending some panicked residents fleeing buildings but causing only a few injuries.
Regional authorities say they were prepared for the 8.8-magnitude quake and the subsequent waves, and moved quickly to keep residents safe. They introduced a state of emergency in some areas, but said there was no major damage.
Here is what to know about the Russian areas hit by the quake and tsunami:
Dubbed the “land of fire and ice,” Kamchatka is one of the most active volcanic regions on Earth. It has about 300 volcanoes, with 29 of them still active, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. Quakes and tsunamis regularly strike the peninsula that lies close to an ocean trench where two tectonic plates meet.
More here.
Japan downgrades last tsunami alert
07:30
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Japan has downgraded its last remaining tsunami alert, which was in the country's north.
Tsunami advisories remain in place for its Pacific coast following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck off Russia's Far East on Wednesday.
New Zealand says tsunami activity has begun
07:15
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
New Zealand's emergency management officials say coastlines of the country are experiencing strong currents and wave surges as tsunami activity reaches shores.
An alert broadcast to every cell phone this morning said the threat is likely to remain in place until at least midday.
Evacuations haven't been ordered. But people throughout the South Pacific island nation are warned to stay out of the water and away from beaches, shorelines, harbors, rivers and estuaries.
New Zealand is about 9,656km from the quake's epicenter. Officials warn that the first tsunami waves might not be the largest to arrive and people should treat the threat as real until the alert is canceled.
Volcano in Russia’s far east erupts after huge Pacific earthquake
06:50
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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Russia's Klyuchevskoy volcano has erupted on the Kamchatka peninsula, following a powerful earthquake in the Pacific on Wednesday.
Scientists described the “descent of burning hot lava” down the slopes of one of the world’s highest active volcanoes, hours after a huge 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the region and prompted tsunami waves in the Pacific.
Klyuchevskoy, which has erupted several times over recent years, is located approximately 450 km (280 miles) north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital.
More here.
Tunami alerts lowered in much of South America
06:31
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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
In South America, three of the four countries with coastlines on the Pacific lifted the tsunami warnings.
Authorities in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru this morning announced the tsunami alerts were dropped. In Chile, the country with the largest Pacific coastline in South America, the government kept the alert along most of the coastline while lifting it in some areas where authorities said there are no longer risks.
Chile's interior minister, Alvaro Elizalde, said that evacuation orders remain in place in areas with remaining alerts and classes will continue canceled on Thursday.
He said that waves reached a height of 1.1m in some places, and in one location reached 2.5m.
One killed in tsunami-related incident
06:20
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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A woman in Japan has died while attempting to evacuate to high ground after a massive 8.8 earthquake triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific region.
The 58-year-old woman died after her car veered off a national road and went off a cliff while she was trying to leave a coastal area yesterday in Kumano city of Mie Prefecture.
The woman succumbed to severe head injuries.
After receiving the tsunami warning, the woman reportedly sent a message to her family saying, "I'll leave my car on higher ground. There's an evacuation area".
In pics: Evacuation orders issued across South America
06:00
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Fact check: Oprah Winfrey did NOT block access to a private road
05:30
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
After a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake rattled off the coast of Russia on Tuesday, officials in Hawaii warned residents a tsunami with potentially dangerous levels of inundation might be on the way.
When the National Weather Service updated Hawaii's tsunami watch to a tsunami warning local officials called for evacuations of at-risk costal communities.
If you were to believe some posts on social media, the billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey — who lives in Maui part-time — was accused of callously refusing to let evacuees use her private road to shorten their travel time.
More here.
Millions return home after tsunami warning lifted
05:27
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Millions of temporary evacuees returned home on Wednesday night after most of the tsunami warnings were lifted across the Pacific.
The 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the sparsely populated Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia during the early hours of Wednesday, prompting tsunami warnings and evacuations across regions from the US to Japan.
Tsunami warnings rippled across the Pacific, triggering emergency responses and widespread disruption. In Peru, authorities shuttered 65 of the country’s 121 Pacific ports as a precaution, while flights to and from Hawaii’s Maui island were cancelled.
Japan, haunted by memories of the 2011 disaster, ordered nearly two million people to evacuate to higher ground.
By Wednesday evening, however, countries across the region began lifting or scaling back alerts, allowing coastal communities to return.
UK needs to be aware of tsunamis, warns expert
05:00
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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Professor Ilan Kelman from UCL's department of Risk and Disaster Reduction has said the tsunamis across the Pacific Ocean mean we should have a greater awareness in the UK for these types of disasters.
"Tsunamis have happened around the UK in the past and we travel," he says. "Tragically in the 2004 [Boxing Day] tsunami, 149 people affiliated with the UK died.
"Be aware that anywhere near water, tsunamis can happen. Tsunamis are relevant to the UK. Tsunamis are relevant to the British. We have coastlines and we travel. So please ensure that when you travel, and anyone living near the shore knows what to do when a tsunami may strike their location."
Bryony Gooch reports.
Russian regions report limited damage
04:40
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The massive 8.8 earthquake reportedly caused limited damage in the sparsely populated Russian peninsula. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the quake damaged a local kindergarten that was unoccupied.
A video released by a Russian media outlet showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room.
Authorities on the sparsely populated Kuril Islands reported several waves flooded the fishing port of Severo-Kurilsk, the main city on the islands, and cut power supplies to the area. The port's mayor said no major damage was reported.
Tsunami advisory still in place
04:25
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The US National Tsunami Warning Centre, in its latest update, said a tsunami advisory continues for a reduced area in the Pacific region.
TSUNAMI ADVISORY continues for reduced area: Message #27 for M8.8 80mi SE Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka 1625PDT Jul 29. See https://t.co/npoUHxWBas for alert areas. pic.twitter.com/unwDlIySkK
— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) July 31, 2025
Evacuations ordered in South America
04:02
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Chile, a place highly vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis, raised its warning to the highest level yesterday for most of its lengthy Pacific coast and began evacuating hundreds of people.
"Remember that the first wave is usually not the strongest," Chilean president Gabriel Boric warned on social media.
Colombian officials ordered the complete closure and evacuation of beaches and low-tide areas while maritime traffic was being restricted. Ecuador canceled classes at schools in the Galapagos Islands as well as communities along the coast.
Coastlines of New Zealand — about 9,600km from the quake's epicenter — were experiencing strong currents and wave surges. There were no evacuations, but people throughout the South Pacific island nation were warned to stay out of the water and away from beaches, shorelines and harbours.
Watch the moment Hawaii beachgoers evacuated amid tsunami warnings on Wednesday
04:00
,
Alex Croft
Russian surgeons keep steady hands during massive Kamchatka quake
