Washington, 12th Aug 2025: After a major earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia on Wednesday, a tsunami followed in the Pacific Ocean region. The earthquake measured 8.8 on the Richter scale. Subsequently, tsunami alerts were issued for 12 countries.
The countries under tsunami alert include Russia, Japan, China, the Philippines, Canada, New Zealand, Peru, the United States, Ecuador, Mexico, Taiwan, and Indonesia.
The earthquake was felt at 4:54 AM Indian Standard Time. The epicenter was located 136 kilometers off the coast of Russia.
After the earthquake, the tsunami first hit the eastern coast of Russia. Later, it reached Japan and the Hawaiian Islands. The tsunami waves were between 10 to 15 meters high, causing complete inundation of coastal areas. The waves traveled about 1 kilometer inland.
This is the largest tsunami after the 2011 Japan tsunami. Large marine creatures like whales were also seen moving toward the mainland with the waves. Huge debris and floating vehicles were observed drifting in the tsunami.
In southern Japan, near the Hokkaido and Edo coasts, tsunami waves of 13 meters height struck, flooding areas up to 3 kilometers inland. A tsunami with 6-meter waves also hit California, USA, causing panic.
Authorities have advised people to leave coastal areas and move to safe locations. US President Donald Trump advised citizens to remain calm but stay alert. In Peru, due to a 3-meter high tsunami, 65 ports have been shut down.
It has been stated that there will be no impact of the tsunami in India.
Because of the tsunami, 200,000 people in Japan and 150,000 people in the US have been safely relocated to secure places.