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Five-magnitude earthquake strikes off Kamchatka Peninsula

There was no destruction, casualties or a threat of tsunami

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, March 3 (Itar-Tass) —— A 4.5-magnitutude earthquake has struck off Kamchatka’s east coast in the Avacha Bay. There was no destruction, casualties or a threat of tsunami.

As the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences has told Itar-Tass, the tremors were registered at 00:18 local time. The center was in the area of Shipunsky Cape 140 kilometers northeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Its center was at a depth of 40.2 kilometers under the seabed.

Brief earth tremors were felt in some districts of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Shipunsky Cape is part of Southern Kamchatka, stretching to the northern islands of Kuril Range. Seismologists say a 7-magnitutude earthquake is likely in this area within a month. If its center is in the Vacha Bay, the strength of tremors in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky may reach 5-6 points.

At the same time specialists say that “such seismic events occur in Kamchatka once in three-four years and there is nothing out of the ordinary about them.”

Earthquakes that strong were registered in the main city of the territory at the beginning of March 1992, the beginning of June 1993 and in December 1997. None of them caused heavy destruction.