Massive quake rocks Russia, triggers Pacific tsunami alerts and volcano eruption

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 30 July, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific and forcing widespread evacuations from Japan to Hawaii. Hours later, scientists confirmed that the Klyuchevskoy volcano, the highest active volcano in Europe and Asia, had erupted.

The massive undersea quake, one of the strongest recorded globally since 2011, sent four-meter-high waves crashing into parts of Russia's far east. In Severo-Kurilsk, port areas were submerged and debris swept out to sea. Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said the waves reached as far as the town’s World War II monument, about 400 meters inland. Around 2,000 residents were safely evacuated.

"The walls were shaking,” one Kamchatka resident told state media. “It's good that we packed a suitcase... We quickly grabbed it and ran out... It was very scary.”

Japan urged nearly two million residents to seek higher ground. A 1.3-meter tsunami hit a northern port in Iwate prefecture. One woman died while fleeing after driving off a cliff. In Hawaii, flights were canceled and tsunami sirens echoed near Waikiki Beach before warnings were eventually downgraded.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves up to three meters high were possible across Russia, Ecuador, and Hawaii. Lower waves were predicted in Australia, Colombia, Taiwan, and French Polynesia.

Amid the chaos, Russia’s Geophysical Survey also announced the eruption of the Klyuchevskoy volcano. A fiery orange glow lit the skies as red-hot lava flowed down the western slope. The 4,700-meter volcano has erupted at least 18 times since 2000, though it poses little risk to large population centers. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the closest city, is located hundreds of kilometers away.

“The Klyuchevskoy is erupting right now,” the agency posted on Telegram. “There is a powerful glow above the volcano and explosions.”

The tsunami alert for Kamchatka was lifted 11 hours later. Despite the magnitude of both events, no major casualties or damage were reported.