A strong, deep 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake hit 106 kilometers north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, the capital city of Russia’s Kamchatka Krai. The depth of the earthquake was reported at 153 kilometers. There have been no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties. No tsunami warning has been issued.
The area was hit with at least seven aftershocks since the event, Kamchatka’s Geophysical Service said. Five of them measured 2.0 and above, according to a spokesman. The remaining too – 4.5 and 5.2, respectively. Rescue crews are searching and inspecting buildings, TASS quoted an emergency services spokesperson as saying. “There have been no reports of damage yet,” Yulia Ananyeva said. “We saw furniture and doors shake as well as swinging chandeliers. Our office is one the first floor.” She added that the buildings in the area were built to withstand a magnitude 9 quake. FULL REPORT
