A magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 30 July, shaking the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and prompting tsunami alerts across the Pacific. The U.S. Geological Survey put the focus at about 20 kilometres depth. Authorities in Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, California, Mexico, Chile and several Pacific island nations ordered coastal evacuations as the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center projected waves of up to three metres; waves reaching about four metres were reported in the northern Kuril Islands. Russia later lifted its local tsunami warning after water levels stabilised, and no fatalities were reported, though one small town sustained minor inundation damage. Seismic activity quickly triggered additional hazards on the peninsula. Within hours of the quake, the 4,750-metre Klyuchevskoy volcano—Eurasia’s tallest active volcano—began spewing lava and ash, according to the Russian Geophysical Survey. The eruption did not threaten inhabited areas but underscored the region’s volatility at the junction of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. On 3 August, the long-dormant Krasheninnikov volcano, about 200 kilometres north-east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, erupted for the first time in roughly five to six centuries. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the blast sent an ash plume to around 6,000 metres and assigned an orange aviation code, indicating a heightened risk to aircraft. Scientists at the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team said the awakening was likely linked to stress changes from last week’s megathrust quake. The ash cloud drifted eastward over uninhabited areas of the Pacific, and no evacuations were ordered on land. Kamchatka hosts more than 30 active volcanoes and sits on one of the world’s most seismically active subduction zones. Officials warned that further aftershocks and intermittent volcanic activity remain possible in the coming weeks.