Why earthquake in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula is dangerous

A massive earthquake hit Russia’s remote Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday (July 30), prompting tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The 8.8 magnitude quake is the strongest to strike the planet since 2011, when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck northeast Japan, triggering a disastrous tsunami.

The latest earthquake, shallow at a depth of 19.3 km, hit about 119 km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake’s epicentre was the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

But what is it? We will explain.

Catch all the updates on the Russia earthquake here.

What is the Ring of Fire?

The Ring of Fire is a huge belt of active and dormant volcanoes that spans most of the Pacific Ocean. It stretches from southern Chile and the US west coast through the islands off Alaska and down Japan to the Philippines.

As per National Geographic, around 90 per cent of all earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. Also, 75 per cent of all active volcanoes on Earth lie along this belt.

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The ring, shaped like a 40,000-kilometer horseshoe, runs from the boundary of the Pacific Plate to smaller plates such as the Philippine Sea plate to the Cocos and Nazca Plates, dotting the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

The Ring of Fire was formed as a result of the shifting of tectonic plates, which are massive slabs of the Earth’s crust. These plates constantly move above the mantle, a layer of solid and molten rock below the Earth’s crust.

Volcanoes are formed along this ring when one plate crashes under another into the mantle – a process called subduction.

“What’s special about the Ring of Fire is that multiple oceanic plates in the Pacific have subduction boundaries there,” Loÿc Vanderkluysen, a volcanologist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, told Live Science.

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The movement of tectonic plates also leads to earthquakes. When one plate is shoved beneath the other, “there’s lots of kicking and screaming as the plates grind against one another. And so that’s where the biggest earthquakes on our planet take place,” Jeffrey Karson, a professor emeritus of tectonics at Syracuse University in New York, was quoted as saying by Live Science.

More than 80 per cent of earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.0 or higher have occurred along the Ring of Fire.

Most of the active volcanoes on the Ring of Fire are present in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, the islands of Japan and Southeast Asia, and New Zealand.

Russia earthquake triggers tsunami warnings

A tsunami was reported in coastal areas of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, after an enormous 8.8 magnitude quake struck off Russia’s remote and sparsely populated far eastern coast, as per Associated Press (AP).

Tsunami warnings have also been issued for Alaska, Hawaii and other coasts south toward New Zealand.

A tsunami as high as 3-4 metres occurred in parts of Kamchatka, said Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations, urging people to stay clear of coastlines.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a tsunami with a height of 40 centimetres was recorded in 16 locations.

The US Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of “hazardous tsunami waves”.

China’s Ministry of Natural Resources’ Tsunami Warning Center has issued alerts for the country’s east coast along Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces, predicting waves between 0.3 to 1 meter.

Mexico’s Navy has forecasted waves of 30 to 100 centimetres (1 to 3.3 feet) on the Mexican Pacific coast.

The powerful earthquake that hit Russia’s Far East was the strongest in over a decade.

Helen Janiszewski, Assistant Professor, Geophysics and Tectonics Division at the University of Hawaii told BBC that the quake was among the ten most severe in recorded history.

“Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,” Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app, reported Reuters.

Russia also reported two aftershocks of 6.3 and 6.9 magnitudes after the initial quake. Dozens more aftershocks above a 5 magnitude were also witnessed later.

Evacuation orders

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency has issued an evacuation advisory to over 900,000 residents in 133 municipalities along Japan’s Pacific coast, from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

Sirens were heard in Honolulu after officials in Hawaii ordered an “immediate evacuation” of large parts of the island Oahu. “Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,” the warning said.

Josh Green, the governor of Hawaii, urged people to “stay calm” and move to “higher ground” from low-lying areas.

Japanese nuclear power plants along the Pacific coast have suspended work.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said 4,000 workers have been evacuated. The power plant had reported a nuclear meltdown in 2011 after the huge earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

With inputs from agencies