A strong earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck off the eastern coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Saturday, September 13, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Data from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) placed the quake’s depth at around 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).
Following the tremor, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cautioned that dangerous waves could impact coastlines within 300 kilometres (186 miles) of the epicentre. The US Tsunami Warning System also issued an alert for nearby shores.
This seismic event came just weeks after unusual geological activity in Kamchatka. A major volcanic eruption took place in the peninsula, which scientists noted as the first confirmed activity in several centuries. The eruption occurred shortly after another major earthquake measuring 8.8, reported PTI.
According to staff at the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the Krasheninnikov volcano erupted, releasing ash clouds that rose nearly six kilometres into the atmosphere. State-run media shared images of thick ash plumes drifting eastward toward the Pacific Ocean. Officials confirmed that no residential areas were in the path of the plume and no ashfall had been recorded in inhabited regions.
The eruption coincided with a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the area, which initially prompted tsunami warnings for three districts of Kamchatka. Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations later withdrew the alerts.
Olga Girina, who heads the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, told RIA Novosti that this was the first historically documented eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano in 600 years.
Earlier in the week, the region had also been hit by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake. That tremor triggered small tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska, with alerts extending to Hawaii, parts of North and Central America, and Pacific islands stretching southward toward New Zealand.