The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 8.8 Earthquake at a depth of 20.7 km off the southeast coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East slightly before 11.25 am local time on Wednesday 30 July 2025 (slightly before 11.25 pm on Tuesday 29 July, GMT). A Magnitude of 8.8 makes this the sixth largest Earthquake ever recorded. Despite the size of this event, no casualties have been reported, although the port of Severo-Kurilsk was inundated by a 4 m wave, causing Russian authorities to evacuate the town, and tsunami warnings were triggered across the Pacific.
The Kamchatka Peninsula lies on the eastern edge of the Okhotsk Plate, close to its margin with the Pacific and North American Plates. The Pacific Plate is being subducted along the margin, and as it does so it passes under the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. This is not a smooth process, the rocks of the two plates continuously stick together then, as the pressure builds up, break apart again, causing Earthquakes.
Earthquakes along subductive margins are particularly prone to causing tsunamis, since these often occur when the overlying plate has stuck to the underlying plate, being pulled out of shape by its movement.. Eventually the pressure builds up to far and the overlying plate snaps back, causing an Earthquake and a tsunami.
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