Multiple nations across the Pacific have been issued with widespread tsunami warnings after a powerful magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday.

Russian authorities declared a state of emergency as waves of up to 4 metres hit the eastern coast of Russia.

Coasts along the US, Hawaii, China, Japan and Russia among other pacific nations remain on alert as they brace for the continuing aftershocks of the powerful earthquake.

Earthquake geologist Dr Dee Ninis at the Seismology Research Centre and Senior Research Fellow in Mineralogy and Geochemistry Dr Ivan Belousov spoke to Ruby Ward about the earthquake’s impacts.

Image: Image: Shutterstock – mTaira

Produced By: Ruby Ward

Featured In Story: Dr Dee Ninis – Earthquake Geologist at The Seismology Research Centre , and Dr Ivan Belousov – Research Fellow in Mineralogy and Geochemistry at the University of Tasmania

First aired on The Wire, Thursday 31 July 2025