UPDATE – (2:45 p.m.) – The Tsunami Watch for Hawaiʻi has been upgraded to a Tsunami Warning. 

From the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at 2:43 p.m. HST:

A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the State of Hawaiʻi. Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.

A tsunami is a series of long ocean waves. Each individual wave crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood coastal areas. The danger can continue for many hours after the initial wave as subsequent waves arrive. Tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and the first wave may not be the largest. Tsunami waves efficiently wrap around islands. All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face. The trough of a tsunami wave may temporarily expose the seafloor but the area will quickly flood again. Extremely strong and unusual nearshore currents can accompany a tsunami. Debris picked up and carried by a tsunami amplifies its destructive power. Simultaneous high tides or high surf can significantly increase the tsunami hazard.

UPDATE – (2:30 p.m.) – In a radio alert message, the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense reported that it is not known at this time if a tsunami has been generated. “Stay tuned for more information and BE PREPARED TO ACT,” the agency stated.

(BIVN) – A Tsunami Watch was issued for the State of Hawaiʻi on Tuesday afternoon, following a massive earthquake off Russia.

The magnitude 8.7 earthquake (updated magnitude) occurred at 1:26 p.m. HST and was located off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

“Based on all available data, a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter,” stated the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. “An investigation is underway to determine if there is a tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi.”

Emergency officials said that if tsunami waves impact Hawaiʻi, the estimated earliest arrival of the first tsunami wave is 7:17 p.m. Tuesday evening (July 29th).

“Further messages will be issued hourly or sooner as conditions warrant until the threat to Hawaiʻi has passed,” officials said.

courtesy Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense

UPDATE – (2:38 p.m.) – The USGS provided this tectonic summary on the earthquake:

The July 29, 2025, M8.7 earthquake east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, occurred as the result of shallow reverse faulting. At the location of this earthquake, the Pacific plate is moving west-northwest with respect to the North America plate at about 77 mm/yr. Note, the North American plate extends westward beyond the North American continent. The earthquake’s location and sense of motion is consistent with faulting on the subduction zone plate interface of the Kuril-Kamchatka Arc.

While commonly plotted as points on maps, earthquakes of this size are more appropriately described as slip over a larger fault area. Reverse faulting events of the size of the July 29, 2025, earthquake are typically about 130 km by 65 km in size (length x width).

The Kuril-Kamchatka arc has frequent moderate-to-large earthquakes and has hosted 31 additional M 6.5+ events within 250 km of the July 29, 2025, earthquake over the preceding century. This includes a M7.4 earthquake on July 20, 2025, which would now be considered a foreshock of the July 29, 2025, M8.7 event. The July 29, 2025, epicenter is located 45 km southeast of the 1952 M 9.0 Kamchatka earthquake epicenter, which resulted in a destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated as more information becomes available.