Tsunami hits Russia’s Kuril Islands | 30 July 2025 | A tsunami wave struck the northern Kuril Islands early Wednesday following a powerful earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, prompting the evacuation of residents from the coastal town of Severo-Kurilsk, regional officials have confirmed. The first wave hit the shoreline of Severo-Kurilsk shortly after a magnitude 7.9 quake was registered near the Kamchatka Peninsula, according to Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko. Authorities ordered an evacuation of the town’s population, estimated at just over 2,500, to elevated areas away from the coast.