It began as a violent tremble deep under the earth’s crust near Russia’s eastern coast. Within minutes, it became the center of global headlines: an 8.8 magnitude earthquake—one of the strongest recorded in recent history—unleashed a chain reaction that rattled the Pacific Rim. Not long after the quake, tsunami waves began making landfall in distant places like Japan, Hawaii, and California, proving once again just how deeply interconnected our planet’s geophysical systems are.
Where Did the Earthquake Strike?
Epicenter: Near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula
The quake’s epicenter was located off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, a notoriously seismically active region. Known as part of the “Ring of Fire”, this area frequently experiences tremors—but this quake was anything but typical.
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Depth: Around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles)
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Coordinates: In the North Pacific Ocean, northeast of Japan
This was a megathrust earthquake, the kind known to trigger massive tsunamis due to the vertical displacement of the sea floor.
How Tsunami Waves Traveled So Far
From Epicenter to Shoreline
You might wonder: how does a quake in Russia send waves thousands of miles away?
When tectonic plates shift violently at the seabed, they push huge volumes of water—creating tsunami waves that can race across oceans at 500-600 miles per hour, similar to the speed of a commercial airplan
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. Several people were injured, but none gravely, and no major damage has been reported so far. Authorities warned the risk from the 8.8 magnitude quake could last for hours, and millions of people potentially in the path of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or seek high ground.
Warnings were lifted or downgraded in Japan, Hawaii and the affected parts of Russia later Wednesday. But Chile upgraded its warning to the highest level for most of its lengthy Pacific coast, and said it was evacuating hundreds of people. In the immediate aftermath of the quake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, residents fled inland as ports flooded, and several were injured while rushing to leave buildings.
Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the sea. And in Japan, dozens of people flocked to evacuation centers, hilltop parks and rooftops in towns on the Pacific coast with fresh memories of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused a nuclear disaster. Tsunami advisories were also in place along much of the U.S. West Coast and for the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Unusually strong currents and unpredictable surges were expected in places as far away as New Zealand. The National Weather Service warned the San Francisco Bay Area could see “some seriously dangerous currents along beaches and harbors.” The earthquake appeared to be the strongest recorded since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan’s nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.
Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world. It occurred along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the ring of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes take place. The quake struck at 11:24 a.m. in Kamchatka with a magnitude of 8.8 and a depth of about 21 kilometers (13 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered offshore, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka’s regional capital.
Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed. Russia’s Oceanology Institute said tsunami waves might have been as high as 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 feet) in some sections of the Kamchatka coast — but the highest were less than 6 meters (20 feet) near the populated areas of the peninsula and the nearby Kurils islands. Authorities in Hawaii downgraded the state to a tsunami advisory as Wednesday began, and evacuation orders on the Big Island and Oahu, the most populated island, were lifted. An advisory means there is the potential for strong currents and dangerous waves, as well as flooding on beaches or in harbors. “As you return home, still stay off the beach and stay out of the water,” said James Barros, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
