Magnitude 7.8 quake off Russia’s Far East triggers tsunami advisory

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck off the east coast of Russia, in the same region where a major tremor hit in July and triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami alert, according to seismologists. A tsunami advisory has been issued for the new quake.

The earthquake struck at 6:58 a.m. on Friday local time (2:58 p.m. ET Thursday) and was centered off the coast of Kamchatka Krai in Russia, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It struck at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi).

The epicenter was located about 127.5 km (79 mi) from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued a tsunami advisory for the Russian coast near the epicenter, including Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The advisory warns of waves between 1 and 3 meters (3 to 10 feet) in the affected area.

Authorities are assessing whether there is a broader threat across the Pacific, including the possibility of waves 1 to 3 feet high reaching Hawaii.

The quake follows a series of major tremors in the region, including a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in late July that caused a Pacific-wide tsunami. That event led to minor coastal flooding in Hawaii and noticeable but non-damaging sea fluctuations as far away as California, Ecuador, and Chile.

The July earthquake and tsunami also caused significant damage in Russia’s Kamchatka, where several buildings collapsed and industrial areas flooded.

Kamchatka sits on the so-called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin which is prone to large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur in the region.