7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The quake hit 111 kilometers (69 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, at a depth of 39.5 kilometers. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cautioned that “hazardous” waves could impact coastlines within 300 kilometers of the epicenter.

The USGS initially measured the quake at magnitude 7.5 before revising it down slightly.

The region has faced a string of major seismic events in recent months. In July, a magnitude 8.8 quake triggered tsunamis up to four meters (12 feet) high, forcing evacuations from Hawaii to Japan. That tremor was the strongest since the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people.