At least 30 strong aftershocks recorded following major earthquake in Kamchatka
At least 30 significant aftershocks have been recorded following this morning’s magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Kamchatka, the regional branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported, TASS reports.
"The major earthquake has been followed by 30 more strong aftershocks ranging from 2 to 5 points in magnitude," the service said in a statement.
A TASS correspondent on site reports tremors are still being felt in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
A strong earthquake occurred in the morning near the shores of Kamchatka, with its magnitude reaching 8.8 according to various estimates. It became the strongest earthquake since 1952. Later, seismologists recorded strong subsequent earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1-5.8. According to the regional health ministry, several people sought medical assistance, with the number of calls to ambulance teams increasing. A wall collapsed in a kindergarten in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with no casualties. A regional headquarters has been deployed to coordinate the actions of departments and services. A tsunami wave about 30 cm high triggered by the earthquake in Kamchatka reached the northern part of Japan. The port of Severo-Kurilsk in the Sakhalin Region and a fishing enterprise were flooded by a tsunami wave.