Earth Science News
WATER WORLD
Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunamis; Peru shutters half its ports
Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunamis; Peru shutters half its ports
by AFP Staff Writers
Lima (AFP) July 30, 2025

Peru on Wednesday closed 65 of its 121 Pacific ports as a tsunami alert was issued following a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Russia.

The Navy recommended suspending port and fishing activities and urged people to stay away from the ocean.

The South American country's COEN national emergency center said the first waves should arrive at its northern La Cruz port near the border with Ecuador around 10:10 am (1510 GMT.)

"It is expected that the height of the waves on the Peruvian coast will be between one and to 2.31 meters (3.2 to 7.5 feet), following the tsunami alert," it stated.

Hernando Tavera, president of Peru's IGP Geophysical Institute said the waves along the coast should not exceed three meters in height.

Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunamis
Chiba, Japan (AFP) July 30, 2025 - One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four metres (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.

The magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Petropavlovsk on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and was the largest since 2011 when one of magnitude 9.1 off Japan caused a tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people.

Almost two million people in Japan were told to head to higher ground and tsunami warnings were issued across the region, before being rescinded or downgraded -- though scientists warned of the danger of powerful aftershocks.

While the immediate area around the quake seemed to have been spared, people on the other side of the Pacific were gearing up for the impact of a tsunami expected to hit overnight.

Ecuador's Galapagos Islands off the west coast of South America closed visitor sites and schools, ushering tourists to dry land as a precaution.

"The boats haven't gone out to fish," said a fisherwoman in Puerto Ayora on the islands who did not want to be named.

"We've been warned through the loudspeakers that it's best not to approach the coastline."

In Russia's far east, a tsunami flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, crashing through the port area and submerging the local fishing plant, officials said. Russian state television footage showed it sweep buildings and debris into the sea.

Authorities said the population of around 2,000 people had been evacuated.

The waves reached as far as the town's World War II monument about 400 metres from the shoreline, said Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov.

Several people were injured in Russia by the quake, state media reported, but none seriously.

"The walls were shaking," a Kamchatka resident told state media Zvezda.

"It's good that we packed a suitcase, there was one with water and clothes near the door. We quickly grabbed it and ran out... It was very scary," she said.

Later Wednesday, the authorities in the Kamchatka peninsula announced the tsunami warning had been lifted.

- Millions advised to flee -

Officials from countries with a Pacific coastline in North and South America -- including the United States, Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia -- issued warnings to avoid threatened beaches and low-lying areas.

In Japan, nearly two million people were advised to evacuate, and many left by car or on foot to higher ground.

One woman was killed as she drove her car off a cliff as she tried to escape, local media reported.

A 1.3-metre high tsunami reached a port in the northern prefecture of Iwate, Japan's weather agency said.

By Wednesday evening, the agency had downgraded its tsunami alerts -- issued for much of the archipelago -- to advisories.

In Hawaii, governor Josh Green said flights in and out of the island of Maui had been cancelled as a precaution.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later downgraded the alert for Hawaii to an advisory and local authorities cancelled a coastal evacuation order.

Earlier, tsunami sirens blared near Hawaii's popular Waikiki surf beach where an AFP photographer saw gridlocked traffic as Hawaiians escaped to higher ground.

"STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!" US President Donald Trump said on social media.

- Pacific alerts -

Wednesday's quake was the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952, the regional seismic monitoring service said, warning of aftershocks of up to 7.5 magnitude.

The USGS said the quake was one of the 10 strongest tremors ever recorded.

The quake was followed by at least six aftershocks that further rattled the Russian far east, including one of 6.9 magnitude.

The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves exceeding three metres above the tide level were possible along some coasts of Ecuador, northwestern Hawaiian islands and Russia.

Between one- and three-metre waves were possible along some coasts of Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Japan and other islands in the Pacific, it added.

Waves of up to one metre were possible elsewhere, including Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Tonga and Taiwan.

- Fukushima evacuated -

At Inage Beach in Chiba prefecture in Japan, officials have set up a security perimeter. One rescue worker told AFP the seaside area was off limits until further notice.

The Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan -- destroyed by a huge quake and tsunami in 2011 -- was evacuated, its operator said.

In Taitung in Taiwan, hotel resort worker Wilson Wang, 31, told AFP: "We've advised guests to stay safe and not go out, and to avoid going to the coast."

Pacific nation Palau, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the Philippines, ordered the evacuation of "all areas along the coastline".

Waves of up to four metres are expected overnight in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, authorities said in a press statement.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
More than 80% of Tuvalu seeks Australian climate visa
Sydney (AFP) July 23, 2025
More than 80 percent of Pacific nation Tuvalu's population is seeking a landmark climate visa to live in Australia as rising seas lap at its shores, official figures showed Wednesday. Australia is offering visas to Tuvalu citizens each year under a climate migration deal Canberra has billed as "the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world". "We received extremely high levels of interest in the ballot with 8,750 registrations, which includes family members of primary registrants," t ... read more

WATER WORLD
Landslide-prone Nepal tests AI-powered warning system

Beijing officials admit 'gaps' in readiness after rains kill dozens

Beijing officials admit 'gaps' in readiness after rain kill dozens

DefendEye adds Starlink Mini to tube drone system for real time global search ops

WATER WORLD
Ancient Roman concrete longevity offers mixed sustainability benefits

US tech titan earnings rise on AI as economy roils

'Marathon at F1 speed': China bids to lap US in AI leadership

Stablecoins inspire hope, and hype, in Hong Kong

WATER WORLD
Huge quake off Russia sparks Pacific tsunamis; Peru shutters half its ports

FBI opens New Zealand office, citing China threat

NOAA says Gulf of Mexico dead zone is smaller this year

UAE begins pipeline project to ease Gaza water shortage

WATER WORLD
Greenland subglacial lake eruption reshapes surface ice landscape

Turkey's glaciers fall victim to climate change

Finland breaks 50-year-old heat record

The eye-opening science of close encounters with polar bears

WATER WORLD
Potato traces its ancient roots to tomato hybridization

Liverwort gene discovery reveals ancient mechanism behind plant reproductive growth

French health experts speak out against bee-killing pesticide

Iconic French chef stakes reputation on vegan menu

WATER WORLD
Volcano erupts after quake in Russia's far east

Millions return home as Pacific tsunami warnings lifted

Key facts about tsunamis and the damage they cause

China says cumulative 44 dead, 9 missing in Beijing rains

WATER WORLD
Senegal strengthens eastern gendarmerie amid Mali border threats

Map Africa project to deliver continentwide geospatial data for 54 nations

Sudan quartet meeting postponed after Egypt-UAE spat; Deadly clashes between Uganda, South Sudan forces

Sudan's RSF names PM, presidential council in rival govt

WATER WORLD
Scrumped fruit shaped ape evolution and human fondness for alcohol

4,000-year-old teeth record the earliest traces of people chewing psychoactive betel nuts

Changes in diet drove physical evolution in early humans

China says childcare subsidies to 'add new impetus' to economy

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.