On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 struck the eastern area of Kamchatka, Russia. The mighty tremor happened at an approximate depth of 19 km (12 miles) under the surface of the Earth and was centered about 136 km (85 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
In response to the quake, multiple Pacific nations bordering the Pacific Ocean, including Pacific Nazion Russia, and Japan, issued tsunami warnings. For instance, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said tsunami waves as high as three meters (about 9.8 feet) are possible along stretches of its coast. Also, alerts were designed for specific areas in the Pacific Islands and Alaska’s coast by U.S. officials.
JMA Officials Update The JMA update states: “At 08:37 a.m. (local time) (06:37 a.m. WIB), the JMA renewed this tsunami warning and advised the public to: Stay away from shorelines; stay away from entering water, or until further notice; and take note that tsunami waves could occur as multiple surges, caution and vigilance should continue.”
The earthquake was reported as magnitude 8.0 then revised to magnitude 8.6, final conclusion, confirmed the earthquake was magnitude 8.7.
As yet, there are no official reports of deaths or injuries, but this quake is reported to be one of the strongest quakes in Kamchatka in the last generation or more.
Possible Effects on Indonesia
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Indonesia (BMKG), has also issued an advisory on water surge effects in several provinces of Indonesia, because of the Kamchatka earthquake. The current alert level is Advisory, with estimated tsunami waves under 0.5 meters in height. The list below provides findings for each of the potentially affected provinces in Indonesia, along with the estimated time of tsunami arrival at the respective locations.
1. Talaud – Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) 14:52:24 WITA
2. Gorontalo City – ETA 16:39:54 WITA
3. North Halmahera – ETA 16:04:24 WIT
4. Manokwari – ETA 16:08:54 WIT
5. Raja Ampat – ETA 16:18:54 WIT
6. Biak Numfor – ETA 16:21:54 WIT
7. Supiori – ETA 16:21:54 WIT
8. Northern Sorong – ETA 16:24:54 WIT
9. Jayapura – ETA 16:30:24 WIT
10. Sarmi – ETA 16:30:24 WIT
Accordingly, BMKG has urged coastal communities in these provinces to remain calm, but vigilant, and avoid the shoreline until updates are provided on official functions. There is currently no structural damage reported in Indonesia regarding the function of the earthquake.
