New tsunami warning from Russia after Kuril Islands quake

Russian officials warned that a tsunami wave of up to 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) could affect a section of the Kamchatka coast following a strong tremor on Sunday morning.

“As a result of the earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a tsunami wave no more than 19 centimeters high may reach the Aleutian municipal district, no more than 15 centimeters high may reach the Ust-Kamchatsky municipal district, and no more than 3 centimeters high may reach the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky urban district,” a report by Kamchatka Tsunami Warning and Monitoring Center said.

“The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said on the Telegram messaging app.

The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake was at a magnitude of 7.0, while German Research Center for Geosciences labeled the tremor a 6.8.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning System, which also gauged the quake at 7.0, said there was no tsunami warning for the island of Hawaii after the quake.

Earthquakes and the Krasheninnikov eruption

This is the second earthquake reported from near Russia within a week. On July 30, a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region, followed by several strong aftershocks.

Another tremor followed with the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupting overnight, for the first time in 600 years.

Russia’s state news agency cited the head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, Olga Girina, as saying the eruption may have been connected to the earthquake on Wednesday that triggered tsunami warnings as far as French Polynesia and Chile. 

Source: Reuters
--Agencies