Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia:A tsunami threat has been declared following a series of powerful earthquakes that struck off Russia’s Pacific coast on Sunday. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), earlier concerns of significant tsunami waves affecting the Kamchatka Peninsula have been lifted.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a sequence of earthquakes near the coast, the strongest measuring a magnitude of 7.4, followed by tremors of 6.7 and 5.0. The quakes were centered approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the capital of the Kamchatka region, home to over 160,000 residents.
All three quakes occurred within 32 minutes, with the largest, a 7.4-magnitude tremor, striking at a relatively shallow depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). While the seismic activity prompted emergency alerts, no immediate reports of damage or casualties have been received.
Initially, the PTWC warned of the possibility of “hazardous tsunami waves” along coastal areas. However, after ongoing assessment, the alert was first downgraded and then fully cancelled. Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations also issued a tsunami warning following the second earthquake, urging people in coastal areas to move inland as a precaution.
A tsunami watch that had been briefly issued for Hawaii was similarly lifted without incident.
Germany’s GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences) confirmed the seismic activity and revised its earlier reading of the second quake from magnitude 6.7 to 7.4, in line with USGS data.
The Kamchatka Peninsula, located in Russia’s far east, lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Pacific and North American tectonic plates meet. This region is one of the most seismically active zones in the world. Since 1900, Kamchatka has experienced at least seven major earthquakes with magnitudes of 8.3 or higher.
One of the most powerful quakes in the region occurred on November 4, 1952, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck. Although it triggered 30-foot (9.1-meter) tsunami waves that reached Hawaii, no deaths were reported.
Sunday’s seismic events serve as another reminder of the region’s vulnerability to tectonic shifts, though quick response measures and timely updates helped avert a larger crisis this time.