A powerful earthquake, reaching a magnitude of 8.5, struck Kamchatka and Sakhalin on July 30, triggering a tsunami and prompting evacuations and warnings across the region and beyond.

Local authorities reported that the initial tremors in Kamchatka measured between 7.7 and 7.9 on the Richter scale. A separate earthquake was also recorded in Severo-Kurilsk, registering a magnitude of 7.9. In response to the events, tsunami alerts have been issued for the entire Kuril Islands chain.

Following the initial earthquakes, a tsunami with waves reaching 3–4 meters high was observed in the Elizovsky District of Kamchatka. Eyewitnesses reported that the first tsunami waves reached the shores of Severo-Kurilsk in Sakhalin, with water impacting the Alaid fish processing plant.

Vladimir Solodov, Governor of the Kamchatka Territory, confirmed that the region had experienced the strongest tremors in decades. He urged residents in tsunami-prone areas to avoid the coastline and heed announcements made over loudspeakers. The governor also reported that a wall collapsed in kindergarten No. 15 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky due to the earthquake, but fortunately, the room was empty at the time. Preliminary reports indicate that there were no casualties. Experts have begun inspecting buildings for structural damage, and temporary safe accommodation will be provided if cracks threatening the stability of buildings are found.

In the Sakhalin Region, Governor Valery Limarenko announced the evacuation of local residents to higher ground due to the imminent threat of a tsunami.

Eyewitnesses described the earthquake as lasting over seven minutes, with furniture shaking, shop windows breaking, and panels falling from ceilings in some buildings. People were seen fleeing buildings into the streets.

Japan issued a tsunami warning for waves up to 3 meters high, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared a tsunami threat for Alaska.