powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 struck the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky region in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula during the early hours of Friday, September 19, according to the US Geological Survey, as reported by Reuters. The quake occurred at a shallow depth of around 10 km (6.2 miles).
This latest tremor follows a magnitude 7.4 earthquake recorded on September 13 near the eastern coastline of Kamchatka, also at a depth of 10 km. In response to the recent seismic activity, the US Tsunami Warning System issued an alert for potential tsunami threats along the East Coast.
The fresh quake comes only weeks after a volcanic eruption on the Kamchatka Peninsula — the first in several centuries — which occurred just days after another massive quake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale. The Krasheninnikov volcano spewed ash nearly six kilometres into the atmosphere, according to staff at the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. Images released by state media showed thick plumes drifting eastward toward the Pacific Ocean, though officials confirmed no inhabited areas were directly affected and no ashfall was recorded in local settlements.
At the time, the eruption coincided with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that prompted tsunami alerts across three coastal areas of Kamchatka. Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations later confirmed that the warnings were lifted.
In August, an 8.8 magnitude quake had also rocked the Far Eastern Kamchatka region, sparking tsunami warnings across the Pacific. Reports described it as one of the most destructive seismic events in the area since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which generated a tsunami that contributed to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan.