7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Russia’s Far East
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the Russian Far East on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, prompting a brief alert by the authorities that tsunami waves were possible at the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The quake hit off the east coast of the peninsula at around 2:40 p.m. local time, the U.S.G.S. said. It was at a depth of about 25 miles, which is considered shallow, meaning it could be destructive.
Its epicenter was about 70 miles east of the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of about 165,000. The tremors alarmed the city’s residents, who rushed out of homes, offices and shopping centers, according to one of Russia’s official news agencies, RIA Novosti.
Just over a month ago, the Kamchatka region was hit by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest ever recorded. That quake set off tsunami waves in the Pacific Ocean, which reached as far away as Hawaii and California.
