2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka earthquake produced a rupture zone about 500 kilometres long
A magnitude 8.8 megathrust earthquake occurred off the Kamchatka Peninsula in July 2025. Researchers have now reconstructed its megathrust rupture process in detail. They aimed to understand how far and how quickly the rupture propagated along the subduction zone. To do so, they combined globally recorded seismic signals with hydroacoustic measurements from the ocean. The analysis shows that the rupture zone extended for about 500 kilometres and lasted roughly 190 seconds. The event therefore deviates from commonly used empirical scaling relationships for earthquakes of this magnitude and highlights the role of plate structure in controlling rupture propagation.
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