CAP Aircrews Respond to Tsunami Warning in Hawaii

Civil Air Patrol broadcasts evacuation message after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 at 11:10 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The Civil Air Patrol operates the world’s largest fleet of piston aircraft, including hundreds of Cessna 182s. [Courtesy: Civil Air Patrol]

Key Takeaways:

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Kamchatka, Russia, triggered a widespread tsunami watch and warning across the Pacific.
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Hawaii Wing launched aircraft with loudspeakers to warn and evacuate residents in vulnerable coastal areas.
Multiple regions including Russia, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. West Coast issued warnings, leading to millions of evacuations in some areas.
The tsunami warnings were later downgraded to advisories, with no reports of damage or injury, though officials advised continued caution for coastal areas.

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If you are located on the West Coast and have an emergency app on your smartphone, you probably received the warning about a tsunami watch triggered by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Kamchatka, Russia, on Tuesday.

For the Civil Air Patrol Hawaii Wing, the warning put its members on alert and sent them to standby aircraft already in place on the Big Island, Kauai, Oahu, and Maui.