US National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii issued the tsunami advisory following the quake
- Shake strikes at depth of 10km as aftershocks registered up to 5.8.
- Russia’s Emergencies Ministry estimates 7.2 magnitude.
- No damage reported with emergency services placed on heightened alert.
A powerful earthquake hit Russia’s remote eastern Kamchatka territory, the local governor reported on Friday, triggering a series of tsunami alerts in the area, but so far there were no reports of damage.
The US Geological Survey reported the earthquake at a magnitude of 7.8 and 10 km (6.2 miles) in depth. A series of aftershocks with a maximum magnitude of 5.8 followed, it said.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry reported the quake was 7.2 in magnitude.
All emergency services were put on high alert, Governor Vladimir Solodov said, but no damage was reported. The eastern coast of the peninsula, projecting far into the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, was under a tsunami warning.
Severe 7.8 earthquake strikes Russia’s Kamchatka region
He told people that 0.5- to 1.5-metre (1.6- to 4.9-foot) tsunami waves were predicted at different places along the coast and advised them to avoid coastal areas.
“Today morning is again proving the Kamchatka inhabitants,” Solodov said in a message on the Telegram messaging app. “We immediately started a swift tour of social facilities and living quarters after the earthquake.”
A tsunami warning was also posted for the Kuril island chain, which is to the north of Japan, the Emergencies Ministry reported.
The US National Weather Service and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre put out a tsunami advisory for sections of Alaska after the quake, advising of the possibility of strong currents, and predicting waves of up to 3 metres for sections of Kamchatka coastal regions.
Kamchatka is situated in a seismically active region and no less than two quakes with a magnitude over 7 have happened in the last week.
