Waves from Russian earthquake cause small ‘sea-level anomaly’ in Hong Kong

Observatory says ‘tsunami heights of the first couple of waves reaching Hong Kong were too low to be observed’

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Calm waters off the Wan Chai Temporary Promenade in March. Photo: Sun Yeung

Published: 2:14pm, 30 Jul 2025Updated: 10:49pm, 30 Jul 2025

A tsunami triggered by a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Wednesday was likely to have caused a “sea-level anomaly of around seven centimetres” in Hong Kong, the Observatory said.

The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region and triggered four-metre-high (13-foot) waves, while residents in many areas along Japan’s eastern seaboard were ordered to evacuate.

Earlier in the day, the Observatory said it expected waves to reach Hong Kong around 5pm and exceed the normal tide level by around 10 centimetres (4 inches) or less.

“The tsunami heights of the first couple of waves reaching Hong Kong were too low to be observed,” the forecaster later said.

“Afterwards, the Observatory recorded a sea-level anomaly of around seven centimetres at about 6.40pm at Shek Pik tide station, which was probably due to the arrival of subsequent tsunami waves.”

China’s Tsunami Warning Centre at the Ministry of Natural Resources also issued a yellow alert on Wednesday morning, warning that waves of up to a metre could hit Shanghai’s coast. The alert was lifted in the early afternoon.

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