Strong earthquake off Russia triggers tsunami warning

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, potentially generating tsunami waves within a 300-km radius.

Location of the earthquake. Graphic: USGS.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck at a depth of more than 10 km under the Pacific Ocean. The epicenter was about 200 km from the village of Nikolskoe, Bering Island, off the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that the earthquake could generate tsunami waves within a 300 km radius.

The earthquake occurred shortly after the Klyuchevskoy volcano in Kamchatka spewed ash. The ash plume reached 6 km above sea level, forcing authorities to issue a warning to aircraft flying in the area.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry unit in Kamchatka estimated the tsunami to be no higher than 0.5 m.

USGS previously recorded three smaller earthquakes in the same area within 24 hours./.

According to VNE