Magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Russia's far-east

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake has struck off the coast of Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, according to the regional earthquake monitoring service.

The local Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday tremors were felt along the coast, including in the region's capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

"Operational teams of rescuers and firefighters are inspecting buildings," the regional branch of Russia's Emergencies Ministry in the Kamchatka region said on Telegram.

The earthquake struck at a depth of nearly 50 kilometres just after 7:00 am local time, some 90 kilometres east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the United States Geological Survey reported.

Aftershocks

The US National Tsunami Warning Center had initially issued a tsunami threat, but later said the threat had passed.

Local authorities never issued a tsunami alert.

Several aftershocks were recorded after the initial quake, but of lower intensity, the Kamchatka branch of Russia's Unified Geophysical Service reported on its website.

The peninsula lies on a seismically active belt surrounding most of the Pacific Ocean known as the "Ring of Fire", and is home to more than two dozen active volcanoes.

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Source: TRT