A tsunami watch has been issued for parts of Russia following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia’s far east, on Sunday, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center. The earthquakes occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers.
Initially, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported the earthquake as a 6.7 magnitude tremor. However, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and US Geological Survey (USGS) upgraded it to 7.4 magnitude.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), there have been a total of five quakes in the region, all at depths of around 10 kilometres –
- Magnitude 6.6 (147 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia)
- Magnitude 6.7 (151 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia)
- Magnitude 7.4 (144 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia)
- Magnitude 6.7 (130 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia)
- Magnitude 7 (142 km E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia)
However, the other quakes did not trigger any tsunami alert. The 7.4 magnitude quake, which hit at 0849 GMT, prompted the USGS to warn that “hazardous tsunami waves are possible” within 300 kilometers (186 miles) of the epicentre, located in the Pacific Ocean, near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Authorities are closely monitoring the situation. As of now, there have been no reports of significant damage or casualties from the earthquakes.
