Japan urges 2 million to evacuate after powerful Pacific quake

Name: Tsunami warnings issued after magnitude 8.8 quake off Russia
Uploaded: 2025-07-30T07:28:46.000Z
Duration: 4 min 34 s
Description: Tsunami warnings issued after magnitude 8.8 quake off Russia

‘If you wait until you see the tsunami, it will be too late,’ officials warned as waves as high as three metres were initially forecast

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People stand on a rooftop in Mukawa, Hokkaido prefecture, on Wednesday after Japan issued a tsunami warning for the country’s Pacific coast following a powerful earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula. Photo: Kyodo

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 3:28pm, 30 Jul 2025Updated: 8:27pm, 30 Jul 2025

Japan has downgraded its last remaining tsunami alert, which was in the country’s north, after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades struck off Russia’s Far East on Wednesday, prompting authorities to urge more than two million people to evacuate and triggering alerts across much of the Pacific.

The magnitude-8.8 quake, which struck off the Kamchatka peninsula near Petropavlovsk at around 6.15am local time, is among the strongest 10 ever recorded, according to the United States Geological Survey. Tsunami warnings were issued in Japan, while Indonesia, the Philippines and other Pacific territories issued alerts or advisories.

In Japan, authorities warned of possible waves as high as three metres (9.8 feet) and issued alerts for wide swathes of the eastern coastline. As of 5pm on Wednesday, more than two million people in 229 municipalities had been urged to evacuate, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said, with residents told to move to higher ground and remain there.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said tsunami waves reached parts of Japan’s Pacific coast, including a 1.3-metre (4.3-foot) wave at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture, 80 centimetres (2.6 feet) at Nemuro in Hokkaido, and 70 centimetres (2.3 feet) at Ishinomaki Port in Miyagi.

JMA downgraded the tsunami warnings to advisories by Wednesday evening.

Officials said tsunami conditions could persist for at least another day, with the risk of multiple or larger waves, especially at high tide, and urged evacuees to remain in safe locations until all alerts are lifted.

The warnings had prompted manufacturers and retailers to temporarily close their plants and stores along Japan’s Pacific coast, Kyodo reported.

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Tsunami warnings issued after magnitude 8.8 quake off Russia

Japan urges 2 million to evacuate after powerful Pacific quake

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘If you wait until you see the tsunami, it will be too late,’ officials warned as waves as high as three metres were initially forecast

‘If you wait until you see the tsunami, it will be too late,’ officials warned as waves as high as three metres were initially forecast