MOSCOW: A powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck off Russia’s Far East Kamchatka peninsula on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The tremor occurred 111 kilometres (69 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the administrative hub of the Kamchatka region, at a depth of 39.5 kilometres. USGS initially placed the magnitude at 7.5 before revising it downward.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) first issued an alert, warning that waves up to one metre could hit parts of the Russian coast. However, the centre later confirmed there was no tsunami threat.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that coastal areas were alerted to minor sea level changes, but the risk of damage was minimal.
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New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also confirmed there was no tsunami threat to the country, according to 1News.
On July 20, 2025, Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula experienced five strong earthquakes, the largest measuring 7.4 in magnitude.
In July, Kamchatka witnessed one of the strongest quakes ever recorded, a magnitude 8.8 tremor that generated four-metre-high tsunamis across the Pacific, forcing evacuations from Japan to Hawaii.
That quake was the most powerful since 2011, when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Japan triggered a deadly tsunami that claimed more than 15,000 lives.