General News

80,000 Evacuated After July’s Kamchatka Quake, Says Yomiuri Survey

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
People gather on the rooftop of a building near the coast of Shirasoto, Chiba Prefecture, after a tsunami warning was issued following an earthquake near Russia’ Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, August 30, 2025

More than 80,000 people evacuated to shelters or evacuation sites in coastal municipalities from Hokkaido to Ibaraki Prefecture after local governments issued tsunami evacuation directives following an earthquake near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, according to a survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

That number is about 10% of the total number of people who were subject to evacuation directives. While some headed to nearby higher ground, the overall number of evacuees appears to have been low.

The earthquake struck around 8:25 a.m. The Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued a tsunami advisory for Pacific coastal areas but upgraded it to a tsunami warning at 9:40 a.m. extending from Hokkaido to Wakayama Prefecture. According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, evacuation directives were issued for about 2.01 million people across 229 municipalities in 21 prefectures from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

Yomiuri conducted the survey this month on local governments, focusing on 90 municipalities in six prefectures —Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki — where relatively high waves were observed, and the first wave arrived early. The survey asked for the “number of residents subject to evacuation directives” and the “number of people accounted for by municipalities at evacuation shelters or sites.” All the local governments responded.

The results showed that a total of 81,634 people evacuated to designated shelters or other locations. As for the 77 municipalities that tracked the number of residents subject to evacuation directives, their evacuation rate was 9.3%. By prefecture, Hokkaido had 11.8%, Aomori 7.1%, Iwate 13.2%, Miyagi 8.5%, Fukushima 4.6% and Ibaraki 1.5%.

By municipality, Sendai City had the highest rate at 111.9%, followed by Kushiro City in Hokkaido at 97.1% and Mukawa Town at 96.2%. In Sendai and Kushiro, the number of evacuees swelled due to the presence of tourists and commuters.

Conversely, Hokota City and Hitachi City in Ibaraki Prefecture recorded rates below 1%. A Hitachi city government official said that the rate was low “because evacuation directives were issued to a wide area as a precaution, resulting in a large number of residents subject to the directives.”