Powerful Earthquake Strikes Near Russia’s Kamchatka Coast, Tsunami Risk Alert Issued

Moscow: A strong earthquake rattled Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka region on Saturday, raising concerns of a possible tsunami in the Pacific.

According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake measured 7.1 in magnitude with a shallow depth of just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). In contrast, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a slightly stronger magnitude of 7.4 at a depth of 39.5 kilometres (24.5 miles), highlighting discrepancies in seismic data.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the tremor could trigger tsunami waves, though Japan’s Meteorological Agency confirmed that no tsunami warning had been issued for its territories.

This quake comes only weeks after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the same region on July 30 — the strongest since 1952.

That earlier disaster generated tsunami waves up to four metres (13 feet) high, damaging buildings, injuring residents in remote areas of Kamchatka, and prompting evacuation orders across parts of the Pacific, including coastal zones in Japan.