Moscow: A powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck off Russia’s Far East coast near Kamchatka on Saturday (September 13, 2025), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The quake’s epicenter was located about 111 kilometers (69 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional administrative center, at a depth of 39.5 kilometers. The USGS initially recorded the magnitude at 7.5 before revising it downward.
According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, waves up to one metre (3.3 feet) could hit parts of Russia’s coastline, while Japan, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands might experience smaller waves of under 30 centimeters.
The Kamchatka region is prone to powerful seismic activity. In July, a massive 8.8-magnitude quake—one of the strongest ever recorded—triggered four-metre tsunamis across the Pacific, prompting mass evacuations from Japan to Hawaii. That quake was the largest since 2011, when a 9.1-magnitude tremor off Japan unleashed a tsunami that killed over 15,000 people.
July’s quake forced Japanese authorities to evacuate nearly two million people, with tsunami alerts issued across the Pacific before being scaled back or lifted.
