A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kuril Islands this morning. The quake triggered a tsunami warning for parts of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Russian officials said the tsunami could cause high waves. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre confirmed there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii.
This is the second major earthquake near Russia in a week. On July 30, an 8.8 magnitude quake struck the region, followed by several strong aftershocks. Just hours before the latest tremor, the Krasheninnikov Volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years. According to Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, the eruption may be linked to the earlier earthquake, which had triggered tsunami warnings as far as French Polynesia and Chile.
