The 8.8 Richter earthquake in Russia was in a “very high impulse” rift – the tsunami reaches Galapagos, Easter Island and Peru

The 8.8 Richter earthquake in Russia was in a “very high impulse” rift – the tsunami reaches Galapagos, Easter Island and Peru

In a ‘very high impulse’ rift earthquake of 8.8 points of the Richter scale in Russian Early on Wednesday (30.07.2025), followed by a tsunami. The “Megathrust Fault” is the rift where the most compact Pacquetle of the Pacific Ocean slides under North America’s lightest plate, scientists said.

The Pacific Plaque is in motion, making the area of the Kamcatka peninsula off the coast of the Russian Far East, where the scary 8.8 Richter earthquake hit, especially vulnerable to such vibrations – and larger ones could not be ruled out.

With its focus near the city of Petrovavlovsk-Kamtsacski, it was the largest earthquake after the devastating event in Tohukou in 2011, which caused a tsunami and destroyed the Japan Fukushima Daicy nuclear power plant.

“Kamchatka’s seismic zone is one of the most active zones of underwriting around the Pacific’s” Ring “, and the Pacific plate moves west about 80mm a year,” said Roger Mouson, a peer -to -day researcher.

“The downgrade events, in which a plate pushes under another, are capable of provoking much stronger earthquakes than” Strike Slips “, such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where the plates touched each other at different speeds.

The 9 Richter of 1952

The Kamchatka area is particularly vulnerable and experienced a 9-magnitude earthquake in November 1952, which destroyed the city of Severo-Kourliskis and caused extensive damage to Hawaii, “Mouson told Reuters.

The shallow events of “very high impulse” are more likely to cause tsunami because they occur at the bottom of the sea and move huge volumes of water.

With a relatively small depth of 20.7 km, today’s earthquake would in any case cause such a tsunami risks, experts said.

“It is a offshore earthquake and when we have offshore earthquakes there is a tsunami potential,” said Adam Pascal of Australia’s Seismological Research Center.

“If we have a relatively shallow earthquake it is more likely to break the surface of the ocean’s bottom,” he told Reuters.

Tsunami up to Hawaii

Tsunami waves about 1.7 meters reached Hawaii, higher than expected initially, but scientists warned that such waves did not need to be particularly large to cause damage to relatively low coastlines of the Pacific Island States.

Today’s earthquake has already caused at least ten aftershocks over 5 points that could continue for months, said Caroline Orciston, director of the Sustainability Center at Otago University in New Zealand.

“This shows that large earthquakes cause post -seismic sequences that begin immediately, and some of them can be destructive in themselves,” he said.

The 8.8 Richter earthquake occurred less than two weeks after a 7.4 -magnitude earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a “care”.

“Earthquakes are by nature unpredictable,” Pascal said. “There are no prices that are scientifically consistent in seismic sequences. Before this morning, they were the main earthquakes. “

Ocean Beach Beach in California, after the Authorities warned for a possible tsunami
Ocean Beach Beach in California, after the Authorities warned for possible tsunami / reuters / carlos Barria

No greater earthquake is excluded

Larger aftershocks cannot be completely excluded, but they added, but their size and frequency tend to decrease over time.

“We can expect that large aftershocks will continue for some time, but the frequency of large, destructive events will be reduced over time,” he said.

“There is always the possibility of a bigger event, but this biggest event usually happens shortly after, within a few days or weeks.”

The tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk, in the Sahalin area of Russia / EPA
The tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk, in the Sahalin area of Russia / EPA

Chile – Ecuador – Peru

The authorities of Chile and Ecuador have evacuated on their islands in the Pacific, after 8.8 Richter that caused a tsunami to a huge area.

Residents and tourists on Easter island, about 3,700 kilometers from the west coast of South America, fled to a church, at higher altitude. At the same time, evacuations began and along the coasts of these countries in the Pacific.

In the Galapagos islands of Ecuador, 970 km from the mainland, the government ordered those living in coastal areas to move to the “safe zones” created by the Emergency Management Service.

Peru, for his part, closed 65 of his 121 ports in the Pacific, pending the tsunami. Authorities recommended that any activity – commercial or fishing – be stopped in these ports and invited residents not to approach the ocean.

The first waves were expected at the port of La Cruz, on the border with Ecuador, around 10.10 local time (18.10 Greek time). The president of the Peruvian Institute of Geophysics (IGP), Ernadon Tavern, estimated that the waves would not exceed 3 meters in height.

xartis tsunami

Tsunami warnings were lifted in Alaska, British Colombia and American Samoa

The US authorities have warned tsunami about the coastal areas of Southern Alaska, the Alaska Peninsula and the Alautic Islands, from the Gulf of Tsignik to the Samalga Pass, the National Tsunami warning center (NTWC) announced.

Tsunami warnings in British Colombia and American Samoa, which had been published after the strong 8.8 -magnitude earthquake off the coast of Kamcatka, in the Russian Far East, were also canceled.

The landslide in Russia
The landslide in Russia

Ending alarm for the Marquez islands in French Polynesia

The French Polynesia authorities have warned the tsunami in the Markessa Islands, saying that residents who had evacuated coastal areas could return to their homes, but should remain on alert.

The tidal waves that arrived at the archipelago after the 8.8 Richter earthquake were much smaller than the local authorities initially feared. The High Commissioner for the Republic in French Polynesia said the waves reached 1.5 meters, well below the 4 -meter prediction.

Smaller tidal waves are expected in the following hours.

Several hours before the first waves arrived, the authorities invited the inhabitants to resort to “safe zones” with high altitude or inland of the islands and stay there until the alarm was upheld.

Nukou Hiva is the largest of the Markessa Islands and is 1,400 kilometers northeast of Tahiti, which is also part of the French Polynesia.

In the other islands the waves are not expected to exceed 30 cm in height and no areas had to be evacuated. However, it was asked by residents not to approach the coasts and estuaries.

The Marquez islands are one of the most secluded areas of the world. Their population is 9,500, according to the 2022 census. The five archipelago of French Polynesia consist of 118 islands, the total area of which does not exceed 4,200 square kilometers.

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