An earthquake of magnitude 8.7 shook the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia at 8:24 a.m. local time. The epicenter was located 126 kilometers southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with a depth of 18.2 km, according to updated data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which revised its initial magnitude from 8.0 to 8.7.
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The earthquake immediately triggered tsunami alerts in various regions of the Pacific. Now, international media report that a tsunami is hitting the coasts of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands, in Russia.
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According to the Russian state news agency TASS, in the Yelizovsky region, waves up to 4 meters were observed. Authorities responded with preventive evacuations, especially in coastal areas like Sakhalin Island, located southwest of the epicenter.
International alert: Japan, Hawaii, and the USA under surveillance
The Japan Meteorological Agency quickly issued a tsunami warning for much of its Pacific coasts, including densely populated regions such as Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. The waves could reach up to 3 meters, and authorities recommended residents to move to higher ground.
In the United States, the National Tsunami Warning Center activated surveillance measures for Hawaii and issued a warning for the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
Despite the magnitude of the event, the initial assessments in Kamchatka indicate that there have been no fatalities or serious structural damage reported, although power outages and mobile phone network failures were recorded in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Kamchatka, part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, is an area of high seismic activity, where the Pacific plate subducts under the Okhotsk plate. Local and regional authorities are actively monitoring while the assessment of damages and residual risks continues.