Russia earthquake: Five powerful quakes rock Kamchatka, tsunami warning for Hawaii lifted — Here's all you need to know

Mint

5 days ago

As many as five earthquakes struck near the coast of Kamchatka region in the far east of Russia on Sunday, with the most powerful being of magnitude 7.4, earthquake monitoring agencies said.
The seismic event occurred on Sunday, with the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) initially reporting the quake of a magnitude of 6.7, which was later updated to 7.4 magnitude.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) also confirmed the earthquake to be of 7.4 magnitude.
The earthquake originated at a shallow depth of 10 km, off the east coast of Kamchatka, shortly after a previous quake, according to Reuters, citing GFZ data.
Following the earthquake, the US National Tsunami Warning Center promptly issued a tsunami watch for the state of Hawaii, which was cancelled shortly afterwards.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry also issued a tsunami warning following the largest quake, urging residents of coastal settlements to stay away from the shore area.
Similarly, Russia's state-run TASS news agency later reported that a tsunami warning for Kamchatka was also lifted by citing local emergency services, Reuters reported.
Earlier forecasts had predicted waves of up to 60 cm reaching several parts of the region, including the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the news agency reported.
The Kamchatka peninsula is the centre point of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates where they meet, making it a hot zone for seismic activity.
Since 1900, seven powerful earthquakes of magnitude 8.3 or higher have struck the Kamchatka area, causing destruction across the region.