A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck offshore of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East on the morning of September 19. Buildings shook and an aftershock reached a magnitude of 5.8. Authorities temporarily issued a tsunami warning, which was later lifted, and there have been no reports of any damage so far.
On the Russia 24 television channel, Kamchatka Krai governor Solodov said on the 19th that this was one of the strongest aftershocks since the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred in the waters near the Kamchatka Peninsula at the end of July.
There were strong tremors felt in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vilyuchinsk, with some walls developing cracks due to the quake. Many residents evacuated to the outdoors for safety, and some sought help at temporary shelters. So far, there have been no reports of casualties or significant property damage.
According to information previously released by the Kamchatka branch of the “Unified Geophysical Service” of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the quake occurred at 6:58 am local time on the 19th (2:58 am Malaysian time), with the epicenter located 93 kilometers east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and a focal depth of 123 kilometers.