A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula early Friday, triggering multiple aftershocks and a brief tsunami alert that was later lifted.
Videos circulating online showed buildings swaying, furniture and light fixtures shaking inside homes, and even parked cars rocking violently on the streets.
“This morning is once again testing the resilience of Kamchatka residents,” regional governor Vladimir Solodov wrote on Telegram. “There are currently no reports of damage. I ask everyone to remain calm,” he added, as quoted by AFP.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake’s epicentre was located 128 km (80 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles).
High-risk seismic zone
Kamchatka lies on the Ring of Fire, the volatile Pacific tectonic belt known for frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions. The peninsula itself is home to numerous active volcanoes and has a long record of major seismic jolts, making it one of the world’s most closely monitored geological hotspots.
Just this July, the region was rocked by a 8.8-magnitude mega-quake off its coast that unleashed a tsunami, flooding parts of a coastal village and sending waves racing across the Pacific, sparking alerts in countries thousands of kilometres away.
