Earthquake of magnitude 8.7 strikes Russian coast; tsunami alert issued

A powerful magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, triggering a Pacific Ocean tsunami warning. Destructive tsunami waves could reach areas along the coasts of Russia and Japan in the next three hours, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and was centred about 125 km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula along the coast of Avacha Bay, the USGS said as it revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier.

Videos have emerged on social media from the region, showing violent shaking inside buildings, with damage reported at multiple places. In one of the surveillance videos from inside what appears to be a mobile shop, furniture can be seen shaking as the building trembles.

Another video shows the moment the powerful earthquake was detected by the seismic centre in Russia, sparking an alarm.

In one footage, a building can be shaking violently, but so far, there have been no reports of any casualties due to the tremors.

American authorities issued a tsunami advisory for areas that include Alaska. In Japan, the weather agency upgraded its tsunami warning, saying waves of up to three metres (9.8 feet) were expected. The waves were expected to hit between 10:00 am and 11:30 am (0100-0230 GMT) along Japan’s Pacific coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) 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 added that, according to preliminary information, there were no injuries, but a kindergarten was damaged.

An evacuation order for the small town of Severo-Kurilsk, south of the peninsula, was declared due to the tsunami threat following the earthquake, Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko said on Telegram.

The Kamchatka branch of Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said on Telegram that a tsunami wave up to 32 cm (1 foot) high may reach the coast.

The Japan Weather Agency said it expected a tsunami of up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) to reach large coastal areas starting around 0100 GMT.

The U.S. 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.

- Agencies