On the morning of July 30, 2025, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit the Kamchatka peninsula in Eastern Russia. A few minutes later, a Tsunami alert was taken, then fortunately returned. The event brought attention to one of the most unstable areas of the planet: the Pacific fire ring.
This vast belt, about 40,000 kilometers long, surrounds the peaceful ocean following the western coasts of the Americas and the oriental ones of Asia and Oceania. It includes highly populated countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, United States, Chile and New Zealand. But more than a simple geographical area, the fire ring represents a concentrate of tectonic instability: this is where about 90% of global earthquakes occurs and 75% of the active or dormant volcanoes of the planet is concentrated, according to the USGS data (United States Geological Survey).
The mobile heart of the earth
At the basis of the activity of the Fire ring is the phenomenon of subduction: a geodynamic process in which a tectonic plaque slips under another. Along this band, at least eight main plates are encountered, including that of the Pacific, Nazca, Cocos and Indo-Australian. These encounters are never peaceful: they generate friction, compressions, partial fusions of rock and magma assets, which translate into potentially devastating volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
For example, the Marianne pit, the deepest ocean depression in the world, was born from one of these subduction areas. Similarly, some of the best known mountain ranges and archipelagos – such as Andes, Japan or Aleutine islands – owe their existence to these slow and constant processes.
The seismic history that speaks alone
The chronology of natural disasters related to the ring of fire tells its danger. Four of the strongest Cinque earthquakes of the 20th and 21st century took place in this range:
Risk management
The presence of such a high frequency of extreme events requires the countries involved a constant investment in prevention, monitoring and adaptation. Japan, for example, built one of the most advanced seismic alert networks and tsunami. Despite this, the risk margins remain high. “The problem is not if there will be another earthquake, but when”, the experts of the Ingv Tsunami Alert Center observe, underlining how the circumpass belt is in constant movement.
A vulnerable future
A further factor of concern concerns the interaction between seismic risk and climate change. The raising of sea level, for example, could amplify the effects of tsunami in the coastal areas. In addition, growing urbanization and housing density in many coastal cities – such as Tokyo, Manila or Santiago – make millions of people more vulnerable to these extreme events.
Finally, economic dependence on tourism in many areas of the ring of fire introduces a paradox: volcanic landscapes and geothermal areas attract visitors from all over the world, but these places are among the most exposed to sudden disasters. A careful and respectful management of the risk, which does not trivial the threat in the name of economic exploitation, is now more necessary than ever.
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