The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula is tied as the sixth strongest ever recorded.
The powerful earthquake triggered tsunami waves of up to five metres in nearby areas and prompted evacuation orders as far away as Hawaii and across the Pacific.
The shallow quake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region of Kamchatka, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard – devastated by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 – was also ordered to evacuate.
The Kamchatka earthquake ranks as the joint-sixth strongest ever recorded on Earth, tied with the 2010 earthquake in Biobío, Chile, and the 1906 earthquake in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
The event highlights the seismic volatility of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where tectonic activity frequently produces some of the world’s most powerful earthquakes.
