The far eastern portion of Russia was struck with a very strong earthquake of at least 7.0 magnitude as confirmed by the US and Russian scientists on Saturday morning. The tremors was felt across the coastal peninsula of huge Russian country.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred at 0325 GMT at a depth of 160 kilometres (100 miles), about 95 kilometres northeast of the Russian town of Yelizovo in the mountainous Kamchatka Krai region.
Based upon the initial reports of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the tremor was first measured at 7.3 in magnitude but it was later downgraded to magnitude 7.0. The tremor in Russia was followed minutes later by a 5.2 magnitude aftershock.
Interfax news agency reported that according to the local branch of the Academy the residents of the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky felt the earth tremble.
The quake struck in an area close to the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of fault lines that circle the Pacific Ocean which is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The National and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centers said there was no risk the earthquake had caused a tsunami.
