8-magnitude quake strikes off Russia's Kamchatka, sparks tsunami warnings in Japan
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow, at a depth of 19.3km.
TOKYO - A powerful 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on July 30, sparking tsunami warnings from Japan prompting evacuations and causing some damage, officials said.
'Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,' Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. He said that according to preliminary information there were no injuries, but a kindergarten was damaged.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was shallow, at a depth of 19.3km, and was centred about 125km east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 along the coast of Avacha Bay. It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier.
Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko said on Telegram an evacuation order was declared for the small town of Severo-Kurilsk after a tsunami warning was issued following the earthquake .
A tsunami with a wave height of 3-4m was recorded in parts of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in its Far East, after a powerful earthquake struck off the region, Mr Sergei Lebedev, regional minister for emergency situations said on July 30.
'All need to move away from water peaks,' he said in a video posted on social media.
The Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded its tsunami warning, saying waves of up to 3m were expected, adding that the waves were expected to hit between 10am and 11.30am along Japan's Pacific coast.
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'A tsunami advisory has been issued as of 0837 on July 30,' the agency said on X, warning that 'tsunamis will strike repeatedly. Do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted'.
There were no injuries reported after the strongest earthquake 'in decades' off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, but evacuation was ordered for a small town in the Sakhalin region after a tsunami warning, regional governors said.
The US Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of 'hazardous tsunami waves' within the next three hours along some coasts of Russia and Japan.
A tsunami watch was also in effect for the US island territory of Guam and other islands of Micronesia.
Kamchatka and Russia's Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions . REUTERS
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