High waves hit Hokkaido as Japan issues tsunami evacuation order

STORY: :: High waves hit the coast of Hokkaido in Japan after a major earthquake strikes near Russia

:: July 30, 2025

:: Hokkaido, Japan

:: Japan’s weather agency said it expected tsunami waves of up to 10 feet to reach parts of the coast

The magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.

Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Much of Japan’s eastern seaboard — devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 — was ordered to evacuate.