Tsunami threat lifted in Russia’s Kamchatka after powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake

(Agencies): The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says there is no longer a danger of tsunami waves on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula after two quakes — the larger with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea nearby on Sunday.

Its epicentre, according to the Kamchatka branch of the Unified Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was 115 km from the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The larger quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and occurred 144 kilometers east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, according to the US Geological Survey.

A few minutes earlier, a quake with a magnitude of 6.7 was recorded nearby.

The PTWC initially said there was a danger of major tsunami waves but later downgraded its warning before finally saying the danger had passed.

According to Russian media, the tremors were felt for roughly a minute, causing people to run out of buildings. The press service of the Main Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the region said that specialists will begin examination of the buildings as soon as possible.

Local services went into high alert mode. There were no immediate information of possible damage or casualties.

On 4 November 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter waves in Hawaii.