Tsunami Warning/Advisory From Asia to South America, July 29, 2025

[Vagabond]

U.S. Tsunami Warning Centers

www.tsunami.gov

There has been a major earthquake in the Pacific Ocean near the Russian Far East.

8.7 magnitude earthquake near Russia prompts tsunami alerts in Hawaii, Alaska and West Coast

Tsunami alerts were issued for Alaska and Hawaii on Tuesday after a major, 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Russia, according to officials.

abcnews.go.com

Tsunami Alerts for Hawaii, Alaska and Japan After Earthquake Near Russia: Live Updates

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s coast led to widespread warnings of potentially destructive waves. The entire West Coast of the United States was under some kind of an alert and officials in Hawaii told people to seek higher ground.

www.nytimes.com

There are tsunami warnings and advisories for coastal areas of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Hawaii. There are or were warnings/advisories for some other countries, notably Japan and, of course, Russia itself.

Any tsunami to hit the West Coast would likely arrive at about midnight tonight, Pacific Daylight Time.

ETA: The earthquake registered 8.8 on the Richter Scale, which is huge.

 

[once_upon]

Oh no. The measurements of magnitude keep going higher. First I read 8.1, now lastest is 8.9?

 

[UMBS Go Blue]

Live coverage of the first waves hitting Japan - the first waves of 30-40cm being shown on the screen right now might not be the biggest (which could be 3-4m):

Watch Live TV | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Japan's sole public media organization delivers to the world the latest information about Japan and Asia 24 hours a day.

www3.nhk.or.jp

First waves expected to hit Hawai'i at Hanalei in Kaua'i at 7.10pm local time, which coincides with high tide:

LIVE: Tsunami warning issued for Hawaii after M8.7 earthquake off Russia

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says the earthquake struck at 1:25 p.m. HST off the east coast of Kamchatka.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

 

[Jay42]

From the live coverage post from the BBC this is tied with the 6th most severe quake in history with the Chilean quake in 2010 and a quake in Ecuador in 1906.

 

[Vagabond]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/30/magnitude-8point6-earthquake-strikes-off-russias-kamchatka-sparks-tsunami-warnings-usgs-says.html

The tsunami hit parts of the Kamchatka Peninsula and may reach as far as the coast of Ecuador.

 

[nlloyd]

Tsunami advisory for parts of coastal British Columbia: https://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/event/tsunami-29jul25/ (note that an advisory is a level below a warning: it relates to strong currents and advising people to stay away from the shore).

 

[Cachoo]

Uh-oh. I hope warning systems are blaring away.

 

[skateycat]

I hope @SkateSand knows already! I saw from the December 2024 earthquake thread that she’s just inside the tsunami zone but that our neighbors is just outside of the zone.

 

[skateycat]

(UPDATES) TSUNAMI WATCH ADVISORY WARNING: California Coast Placed on Alert After Massive Earthquake off the Russian Pacific Coast

lostcoastoutpost.com

 

[Aussie Willy]

Video from Russia (apologies to those who haven't got Tiktok).

TikTok - Make Your Day

Stay safe to those who may be affected

 

[Vagabond]

Uh-oh. I hope warning systems are blaring away.

They are in Honolulu.

Tsunami warning live updates: reports of four metre waves in Russian region; US widens alerts after earthquake off Kamchatka

Hazardous waves from strong 8.8 quake are possible on the coast of Russia, Hawaii, Alaska and some Pacific islands after earthquake struck off Kamchatka

www.theguardian.com

 

[manhn]

Living on Vancouver Island, this is my first affected tsunami warning. So, when I saw this thread, I kinda freaked.

Fortunately for me, I live on the east coast of the Island and it does not appear I live in a tsunami zone. We have an office in Ucluelet so hopefully they are all okay.

Victoria FSUers, hope you’re all good!!

 

[SkateSand]

We're in the Tsunami Zone, but our next door neighbor is out of it and he already came over to say we could camp out with him if the waters rise. I didn't hear the Tsunami siren which already went off, but I got the warning on my phone that said to get to high ground. We should be fine, but the highway south of town will likely flood as it is at sea level and typically floods during King Tides or surf surges. All the boats in the harbor are heading out to sea. Just out of curiosity I looked up our house's elevation and it is 49 feet above sea level. I think a previous tsunami here went to 44 feet.

 

[skateycat]

We're in the Tsunami Zone, but our next door neighbor is out of it and he already came over to say we could camp out with him if the waters rise. I didn't hear the Tsunami siren which already went off, but I got the warning on my phone that said to get to high ground. We should be fine, but the highway south of town will likely flood as it is at sea level and typically floods during King Tides or surf surges. All the boats in the harbor are heading out to sea. Just out of curiosity I looked up our house's elevation and it is 49 feet above sea level. I think a previous tsunami here went to 44 feet.

Mr Skateycat doesn't quite know what to do with himself! One minute he says I should just tell you to leave your arm floaties by your bed and you'll be fine, and next he says he'll feel bad if the tsunami goes to 50 feet. LOLOLOLOLOL

 

[Karen-W]

Praying for you @SkateSand! The 2011 Sendai quake caused a minor tsunami in your area. I remember seeing videos from the Oregon communities just north of you at the time.

7-foot waves have hit Midway Atoll in the last 30-45 minutes. There are reports that Oprah Winfrey has refused to open her private road on Maui that would allow locals much faster access to higher ground - 10 min drive vs nearly an hour from the map I saw on X, so instead locals are stuck in a major traffic jam. And there's video coming out of Honolulu with traffic jams also. Tsunami sirens are going off in several videos I've seen already.

Here's a meteorologist's take on the waves at Midway.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1950410428044988805

ETA - US Coast Guard has ordered an evacuation of ALL commercial vessels from every port in Hawaii.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1950414997542027615

ETA2 - Oprah Winfrey's private road from Wailea inland to higher ground has been opened.

 

[Karen-W]

Here is a live news stream from Hawaii -

 

[Vagabond]

Tsunami warning live updates: Russia declares emergency after flooding in Kuril Islands; Hawaii prepares for first waves

Hazardous waves from strong 8.8 quake are possible on the coast of Russia, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and some Pacific islands after earthquake struck

www.theguardian.com

Meanwhile Shanghai is grappling with the twin threats of a tropical cyclone and a tsunami, with more than 280,000 people relocated from the city, and hundreds of flights and ferry services halted on Wednesday.

 

[MacMadame]

We're still under an advisory, not a warning. Plus we're about 85 mi above sea level so I don't think we're in the tsunami zone.

I've lived here 31 years and never had any tsunami advisories until a few years ago and now we've had two.

 

[Karen-W]

We're still under an advisory, not a warning. Plus we're about 85 mi above sea level so I don't think we're in the tsunami zone.

I've lived here 31 years and never had any tsunami advisories until a few years ago and now we've had two.

Miles or feet?

 

[made_in_canada]

I was wondering if it was better to be in open ocean or in port on a boat during a tsunami. A friend has spent the last year on her sailboat with her family and just crossed the Pacific and made it to Vancouver Island on the way home to the Sunshine Coast.

 

[SkateSand]

The city has evacuated all the RV parks in the harbor area and recommended the RVs to be moved to the Home Depot, Walmart, and the high school parking lots. Someone noted that all three of those locations are considered to be in the Tsunami Zone. The city spokesperson explained they don't expect a worst case scenario, which the Tsunami Zone encompasses. I'm sure that means my house will be fine since I'm closer to the edge of the zone than those evacuation locations.

 

[Vagabond]

I was wondering if it was better to be in open ocean or in port on a boat during a tsunami. A friend has spent the last year on her sailboat with her family and just crossed the Pacific and made it to Vancouver Island on the way home to the Sunshine Coast.

It's better to be out over deep water so that you and your boat aren't carried by the powerful surge against a dock or land.

 

[SkateSand]

I was wondering if it was better to be in open ocean or in port on a boat during a tsunami. A friend has spent the last year on her sailboat with her family and just crossed the Pacific and made it to Vancouver Island on the way home to the Sunshine Coast.

Definitely better to be on the open ocean, which is why our boats left the harbor for the open sea tonight. The last two tsunamis we had here destroyed all the boats left in the harbor.

 

[MacMadame]

Miles or feet?

Feet. But also about 18 miles from the Bay.

One map I looked at said we weren't in the zone. This one was from the City. But the one on Google Maps says we are. It also has some weird triangle in the border that makes no sense. So I'll stick with the City's borders.

 

[Karen-W]

I was wondering if it was better to be in open ocean or in port on a boat during a tsunami. A friend has spent the last year on her sailboat with her family and just crossed the Pacific and made it to Vancouver Island on the way home to the Sunshine Coast.

It's better to be out over deep water so that you and your boat aren't carried by the powerful surge against a dock or land.

Definitely better to be on the open ocean, which is why our boats left the harbor for the open sea tonight. The last two tsunamis we had here destroyed all the boats left in the harbor.

Yup. Here's video from the damage caused by the relatively minor tsunami that hit the far northern California and southern Oregon coast in 2011.

Brookings, Oregon -

Crescent City, California -

 

[Buzz]

Please stay safe everyone!

 

[Vagabond]

Tsunami updates live: Central and South American authorities order evacuations; volcano in Russia starts erupting after earthquake off Russian coast

Japan downgrades tsunami warnings and Hawaii says it is safe to return to previously evacuated areas after 8.8-magnitude earthquake off coast of Russia

www.theguardian.com

The Klyuchevskoy volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far east has started erupting after Wednesday’s powerful earthquake in the Pacific, Russian state news agency RIA reported, according to Reuters.

The massive quake struck on Wednesday morning in Russia, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13ft) on the country’s east coast, damaging buildings and prompting evacuation warnings in the region

(((((People in Kamchatka)))))

 

[MacMadame]

Woke up to news that we are still under an advisory. Also, admonished not to go down to the beach to check things out. We are seeing what I think of as sloshing. Which is a big wave that goes back and forth. Except it's in the ocean and not a bathtub. It's not a tsunami but it can still cause damage and death.

 

[Jay42]

Tsunami updates live: Central and South American authorities order evacuations; volcano in Russia starts erupting after earthquake off Russian coast

Japan downgrades tsunami warnings and Hawaii says it is safe to return to previously evacuated areas after 8.8-magnitude earthquake off coast of Russia

www.theguardian.com

(((((People in Kamchatka)))))

There's so many volcanoes on the Kamchatka peninsula. I was worried this would happen but hoping it wouldn't.

 

[Karen-W]

Woke up to news that we are still under an advisory. Also, admonished not to go down to the beach to check things out. We are seeing what I think of as sloshing. Which is a big wave that goes back and forth. Except it's in the ocean and not a bathtub. It's not a tsunami but it can still cause damage and death.

Actually, that's what a tsunami is. It isn't just one major wave but a series of waves sloshing up against the shore - the water recedes & then returns with a larger wave against the wall of the bathtub/shore until the energy dissipates and the water calms again.