Tsunami warning issued as powerful earthquakes hit Russia's Pacific coast

Three earthquakes, one with a magnitude of 7.4, were recorded near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the capital of Russia’s Kamchatka region. A tsunami warning has been issued after the earthquakes were recorded off the Pacific coast of Russia, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The epicenter of the earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.4, 6.7, and 5.0, was around 140km (87 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The USGS reported that the three quakes occurred in the same area off the coast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky within a span of 32 minutes. The 7.4 quake was at a depth of 20km (12 miles), and there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat for parts of Russia. A separate tsunami watch issued for the state of Hawaii was later lifted. Germany’s GFZ monitor also confirmed the earthquakes, with at least one magnitude 6.7 quake recorded off the east of Kamchatka Region on Sunday, later updated to magnitude 7.4.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located in Russia’s Kamchatka region facing the Pacific, northeast of Japan and west of the US state of Alaska, across the Bering Sea. The Kamchatka peninsula is the meeting point of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, making it a seismic hot zone. Since 1900, seven major earthquakes of magnitude 8.3 or higher have struck the area. On November 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.

According to the source: Al Jazeera.