Dozens of Aftershocks Reported After 8.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Russian Coast

The largest was a 6.9 magnitude aftershock that struck about 40 minutes after the initial 8.8 quake, the USGS says.

A powerful wave washes past a building located near the shore, after a powerful earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Severo-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Region, Russia, on July 30, 2025. Screenshot obtained from social media video/Reuters

A series of aftershocks hit the northern Pacific Ocean along the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific, according to a federal agency.

The earthquake, which hit on July 30 at 8:25 a.m. Japan time with a depth of 13 miles, is believed to have been one of the most powerful in recorded history and the strongest one recorded since the devastating earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011. It was centered about 75 miles from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.