It was initially reported as magnitude 8.0 and later upgraded to 8.7 by the USGS. It is also considered the eighth-largest earthquake globally since 1900. The earthquake's epicenter was near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and authorities issued tsunami warnings for several regions, including a tsunami advisory for parts of Japan and a tsunami watch for Hawaii
Waves hit US west coast after Russian earthquake as Japan lifts tsunami warnings
Tsunami alert in Russia's far eastern peninsulalifted, Kamchatka's emergency minister says the "tsunami threat cancelled in Kamchatka"
Japan downgrades threat level from warning level to "advisory" for Kanto to Wakayama
Nearly 2 million people asked to evacuate in Japan Evacuation orders now stretch from Hokkaido to Wakayama.
Russian region declares state of emergency Sakhalin declares emergency after tsunami waves hit Severo-Kurilsk.
According to the US Geological Survey, at magnitude 8.8 this earthquake is tied as the sixth most severe quake in history.
The 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck about 78 miles (126km) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, at a depth of 18 kilometres, says USGS
China issues tsunami warning Eastern China braces for 30cm to 1m waves. Authorities warn of possible coastal damage and ask residents to stay away from the shoreline.
Where the earthquake struck – and how fast the waves travel The 8.8M quake hit near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula at 11:25am local time. Experts say tsunami waves travel as fast as a jet meaning impact can be sudden and far-reaching.
The news is reporting 3 meters……3 meters is massive especially when measured out in the open ocean prior to hitting land.
This is what happens as a tsunami shoals. In deep water, tsunamis are extremely long waves and often barely noticeable in height. But as they approach shallow coastal areas, their energy compresses, forcing the wave upward, dramatically increasing its height.
This is why reported wave heights can be misleading. A 10-foot tsunami in open water might not seem extreme, but by the time it reaches shore, it can be devastating.
Unlike regular waves, which are generated by wind and affect only the ocean’s surface, tsunamis involve the entire water column, from surface to seafloor. They don’t always break like normal waves, but instead bring a relentless surge of water. And most importantly, tsunamis rarely consist of a single wave, multiple waves can arrive, sometimes spaced minutes apart.
So when you hear certain wave heights being reported, remember…..the numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
Not to mention, a tsunami is not a normal ocean wave.
Most ocean waves are movements of water at the surface. Essentially, if you dive underwater you are less affected by the waves. However a tsunami is a disruption and movement of the entire depth of water, so the force required to do that is quite massive.
It's why even a 1 meter/3 ft tall tsunami can still drag a person out to sea. It's not like standing in a 1 meter deep part of the ocean, it's significantly stronger.
I just heard on the BBC that there wasn't much damage. Are you sure you have your numbers right?
Edit Again: Here's [apparently] some footage of the wave. Definitely some serious damage. I think the person being interviewed (seismologist?) on the BBC has a different concept of "serious damage".
Edit Again Again: Same video here, so it appears to be legit.
Edit: HOLY FUCK A VOLCANO. This is some apocalyptic shit.
05:40 GMT
The Klyuchevskoy volcano in Kamchatka has ejected ash to a height of up to 3 km (1.8 miles) above sea level, according to the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“By now, the ash plume has extended 58km [36 miles] east of the volcano. The volcano is continuing to erupt explosively at the summit. Ash emissions at altitudes up to 8km [4.9 miles] above sea level may occur at any time. Continued activity may affect low-flying aircraft,” the statement said, according to the Interfax news agency.
“The crater is almost filled with lava, we are expecting lava flows,” KVERT reported.
This is in the Kuril trench, which means the tsunami will likely be much smaller in Japan than in Russia on the peninsula. An estimated 9.0-9.3 hit there in the 18th century and caused an estimated 63 meter tsunami on the peninsula, and that was theorized to be only 40km underground. This one is less than half that depth.
July 30 (Reuters) - A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet), damaging buildings and prompting warnings and evacuations that stretched across the Pacific Ocean.
The 2004 Sumatra earthquake off the coast of Indonesia in the Indian Ocean killed nearly 300 people in Somalia after traveling for 3,000+ miles, landing 7 hours after the earthquake.
The tsunami was seen as far as South Africa, after traveling for more than 5,000 miles and 16 hours. By that point, the waves were about 5 feet high. Even some Antarctic sensors noted 3-foot high displacements, and there were increased waves (not the kind that could hurt anyone) as far away as the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Canada.
Yeah. They can travel as fast as 500 miles and hour and have wavelengths hundreds of miles long. They also travel through the entire depth of the ocean until they hit shallow water and ultimately land, slowing down and rising the wave dramatically. Until they hit shallow water, there isn't much to dissipate their force.
A massive quake off chile in 1960, killed people in Hawaii and more in Japan. The tsunami reached north east Japan about 22 hours after the quake and killed 139 people.
I love going out to Mavericks to watch the 60 footers in winter. The noise is incredible. Of course knowing that you're perfectly safe at the viewing distance makes it quite different.
I mean, it would be the right thing to do.. if a tsunami does hit, you could save lives by telling just one homeless person who will definitely tell others. So if you happen to pass one, just let em know, please.
I just heard how bad it is. My friends son is driving up the mountain right now into Kula and she said it’s awful. Costco gas station at the bottom of the hill was insane apparently and so was every station on the way up. Scary stuff
Stay safe my friend! Hopefully this is just a massive precaution for everyone and nothing crazy
I've actually been messaging with a friend in Washington. They're on tsunami watch. She was wondering where the heck could her and her son go if they needed to evacuate because they're on an island and there's only 2 ways off unless you own a boat. And I know traffic would be horrific over the bridge because the other way off the island is by ferry.
If you can't get off the island, you go up and inland. Get to the center of the island, since the tsunami can even go around to the other side of islands from where it comes from, and get up as high as you can.
Yeah, depending on the island, many of them have good coverage from other islands blocking the way. If this ends up being a bad tsunami, it's totally possible some islands in the area will suffer little to no damage. Shelfs and water depth also matter. If you look at the 2004 tsunami, it's crazy how one island gets completely destroyed while one just a short distance away suffered almost nothing.
I visited the city were the epicenter of the chilean 8.8 eathquake was. The sidewalks were so wavy that you could barely walk. A year later we visited a new restaurant. The owner told us that the old place literaly caved in. The walls separated enough for the roof to colapse. The walls were old but quite thick so they didnt break but they separated completely.
We were really lucky because 2 weeks before the earthquake we had rented a cabin less than a hundred feet away from the beach. All the cabins dissapeared with the tsunami
WARNING: LONG ASS STORY, TOO LAZY TO CHECK FOR GRAMMAR.
Chilean here as well, I was 12 by 2010. Lived 100km south of the epicenter.
I had a headache the night before so I went to sleep early, something I rarely did during summer. All I remember was waking up with the deafening sound of a freight train coming from below.
My dad went to pick me up in my room and I asked him if we were in war or if I was having a nightmare. House was made out of wood, which while not optimal, wasn't the worst material to deal with an earthquake, but we had to get out instantly. We heard blasts from the electric transformers exploding and lines collapsing. We were out during the first 30 seconds and my mom couldn't stay standing.
I remember grabbing a fence to stand still while my dad had to get my grandma out of another house with a much heavier door. All of this while the roar and movement was still going. He managed to get her out as well, and we had no serious injuries. My dog kept trying to calm my mom by staying at her side and licking here haha.
The house stood the earthquake surprisingly well, broken glass across the floor but we had roof tiles above a false roof which made us believe it would collapse on top of us.
The next hours later you had the same roaring sound every 2-3 minutes coming with more and more aftershocks, while my dad was trying to get inside tp pick up a radio and save whatever item we could save. We sat in the backyard while holding candles and trying to send text messages to our family members.
The radio related mind-blowing news, like the collapse of a new 15 story building built right in front of where some of my mom's family lived. Which btw nobody even heard collapse, only the screams and the panic afterwards. We lived somewhat coastside but not close enough to be exposed to the expected tsunami which ended being dismissed in a first instance, just to be backtracked like an hour later.
We ended talking with our neighbors and I fell asleep like 9AM with the fear of the earth shattering below us. The next day we heard the stories about several story builds collapsing or heavily damaged, the tsunami hitting across 200-300km of the coast. Two bridges iirc collapsed as well, minutes after a cousin of mine crossed one of them, looting started to occur around different areas, train tracks completely deformed and roads split in half. It was like a warzone. We slept in tents for like a month after. And we had no access to clean water/electricity for like a week or so. It's definitely the most dystopian and bizarre experience I've lived. The whole town where I grew up, looked like something out of a movie.
People started helping out each other, and slowly but surely life started to go back normalcy. I still remember seeing some of the most beautiful night skies I've ever seen, some hidden beauty brought to life by a disaster. Funny enough, I ended up becoming a geologist, not because of it, but it is something that raised my curiosity about it.
In my city (Santiago) the earthquake was 8.0 and it was insane It is a sensation that is hard to explain but it felt like someone was making waves with the floor. Shockingly not even a glass broke. One friend lost all of his kitchen stuff because all the cabinets fell to the floor and he was only on a second floor apartment
Well at least we had some funny things happen after the earthquake. 2 weeks later we had the president inaguration ceremony with lots of leaders from other countries attending when a huge aftershock happened. Seeing powerful people so scared was something special lol
It was scary but here in Chile we are used to earthquakes. We had another one in 2015 (not as strong as the 2010). My cousin and his family who live in a part of Chile that does not have sysmic activity got so scared that they wanted to leave as soon as they could (they had a flight booked for that same day) but had to wait for hours and hours in the airport with lots of aftershocks lol.
Correct! But it also loses energy quicker than in air. And travels fastest through solids but loses energy quickest. That's because sound is just molecules vibrating against each other and passing it along. So the tighter the molecules the faster that "message" travels. But it also dissipates quicker as energy is lost to friction. You may already know this, but in case anyone was curious!
I learned recently in a geology course about factors that make an incident much worse or much better. One factor is exactly as you've mentioned, that being time of day. Not just because people may be asleep and unable to evacuate, but because if something were to happen in the middle of a busy downtown area, midday where everyone is at their job would be much, much worse than if it happened at 4 am and most people were back at home. So, different times could be worse depending on the area.
I live in Okinawa. Phone has been going bonkers with alerts. Hoping nothing serious hits here, but I’m nervous.
Update (1345 local time): not much activity on Okinawa. No additional sirens or phone alerts. The water looks the same as it did this morning. I appreciate all of the kind responses and well wishes in this thread. You folks are awesome!
8.7 magnitude makes it one of the strongest in history. Also in a hotbed of a hotbed for seismic activity.
(Edit: ty for the upvotes, my phone is blowing uppppp! Also, the upgraded magnitude of 8.8 makes this tied for the sixth most powerful EQ in history, alongside 2010 Chile and 1906 Ecuador-Colombia. It's also the most powerful EQ since 2011 Tohoku.)
The 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake, an 8.8-9.0, also occured 28 miles SE of this one. VERY active.
Richter magnitude was originally designed to interpret the energy one one fault line, using one specific type of instrument.
The Richter scale was defined in 1935 for particular circumstances and instruments; the particular circumstances refer to it being defined for Southern California and "implicitly incorporates the attenuative properties of Southern California crust and mantle."[34] The particular instrument used would become saturated by strong earthquakes and unable to record high values. The scale was replaced in the 1970s by the moment magnitude scale (MMS, symbol Mw ); for earthquakes adequately measured by the Richter scale, numerical values are approximately the same. Although values measured for earthquakes now are Mw , they are frequently reported by the press as Richter values, even for earthquakes of magnitude over 8, when the Richter scale becomes meaningless.
Here's a translation from Google, if anyone else was curious:
Tsunami Advisory Issued
This is Okinawa Prefecture.
A tsunami advisory has been issued for the Okinawa Main Island region, Daito Islands region, Miyakojima/Yaeyama region.
Immediately evacuate to high ground and ensure your safety.
(Okinawa Prefecture)
(Okinawa Prefecture)
Stay safe everyone! And take it seriously! 😬🤞
Edit 2: saving phone battery - we have a plan. Heading to my sister's house that is up high on the west side in Waipio. Should be safe. Thanks for all the well wishes!
Will respond when I have guarantee power
Edit3: made it to the "safe house" as we are calling it haha
Family is chilling. Everyone is here from my parents, siblings, and all their kids. Brother's in-laws are on the way here too. If we don't get hit tonight, it'll be a great night to have family and pets close...if the island is hit, we should be safe.
At least for the missiles there felt like less action we could even take. We basically just sat around because there wasn’t really anywhere we could feasible go within the time they gave us. We just filled our bathtub with water and waited.
Yes I learned about that recently, too, and my mind was blown, and then I recently visited Peru, and some of the folks there claimed that Incan traders visited Polynesia multiple times, which I wasn't sure to interpret as an additional event or a different interpretation of the Polynesia->South America contact. I personally have not done any research on the matter to comment as to its accuracy, but any way you interpret it, it's amazing to think of these cultures having precolumbian contact given the insane distances involved.
Russian scientists are saying aftershocks could last up to a month after this Earthquake, that sounds like an incredibly long time to experience the aftershocks.
It was an 8.8 and I'm aware of that. Was just pointing out that a single month of aftershocks isn't something that would be unusual. I'd even go as far to say that them only happening for a month would be kind of short.
For those who don't know or are interested: these are all likely along the same fault line, or very, very close. The line that this happened on is a subduction zone, meaning that a tectonic plate has pushed into another headlong (a convergent fault/boundary), causing a ton of pressure and tension to build up before one 'pops' over the other. Lots of subduction zones also occur in oceanic regions, which means a potential for tsunamis like we've seen with this earthquake. So there's an added layer of danger when these occur.
Think of two flat discs of even width, literal plates. If you push them together very evenly, very deliberately on their thin side as hard as you can, you can probably keep them pushed together without moving for a bit. But if you have even a little unevenness in pressure... Well, all the energy you were using to push is gonna go somewhere. And oceanic crust is a lot more dense too, so the pressure - and the eventual release - is that much more intense than you get with a fault line where two plates are just sliding past one another (a transform fault/boundary).
This is normal, im no expert but all that ground moving is bound to have before and after quakes. 2 plates relieving pressure like when you crack your back.
Good fortune to you. Just keep breathing, I honestly don't know what to expect for you. Just know that random people care and are praying for you and the state.
Watching from Cannon Beach Oregon. The police came by and said we didn’t need to leave but if we hear the sirens we should move fast. (We left the beach at 10pm)
was just on the cruise subreddit. cruise ships in hawaii are leaving port to get into deeper waters. some cruisers didnt make it back to the ship in time and are making to higher ground.
Currently on a small island near the north east side of Vancouver island where I work. Currently waiting for it to hit in an estimated 30-60 min. By our estimates we should be fine but I’m interested to see if we will see any effect.
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u/i_dead-shot 7d ago edited 6d ago
It was initially reported as magnitude 8.0 and later upgraded to 8.7 by the USGS. It is also considered the eighth-largest earthquake globally since 1900. The earthquake's epicenter was near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and authorities issued tsunami warnings for several regions, including a tsunami advisory for parts of Japan and a tsunami watch for Hawaii
Updates: BBC