TOKYO—Authorities in Hawaii and Japan issued tsunami evacuation alerts after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific Coast.
The National Weather Service issued a tsunami watch for the entire West Coast of the U.S. including California, Oregon and Washington state, and it issued a tsunami warning in Hawaii.
Some people near the epicenter in Russia were injured, the Tass news agency said, citing a local official. Japanese public broadcaster NHK aired footage from Russia showing a tsunami swamping a coastal area and carrying off some buildings.
A combination of images taken from a fixed live video camera footage shows a beach immidiately after a powerful earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula (top) and after people evacuated following a tsunami warning, in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, western Japan July 30, 2025, in this image released by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS
Tass said it was the strongest earthquake in the peninsula since 1952.
President Trump posted on social media about the U.S. tsunami warning and tsunami watch, and told people to visit tsunami.gov for information. “STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE,” the president wrote.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami as high as 3 meters, or 10 feet, could strike parts of the Pacific coast of Japan. It told people living near the coast to flee immediately to higher ground or to designated tsunami evacuation buildings.
Based on preliminary forecasts, tsunami waves of 1 meter to 3 meters above the tide level are possible in coastal areas of Hawaii, the National Weather Service said. A warning was also issued for parts of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
People watch the coastal area from Hiyoriyama Park after Japan issued evacuation alert following major quake in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula that triggered a tsunami warning, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, Japan July 30, 2025, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE.
Initial waves in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido were about 1 foot high, the Japanese agency said.
It was the first time since a February 2010 earthquake in Chile that Japan issued a tsunami warning because of an overseas earthquake, a Japan Meteorological Agency official said at a news conference.
The agency official said a tsunami warning could last longer than usual if it originated from an overseas earthquake. In the case of the 2010 earthquake, it took about a day until the warning was lifted.
Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com and Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com
