MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 tourists are currently on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian Tourist Industry Union (RST) press service reported.
"Preliminary data suggest there may now be between 7,000 and 8,000 tourists in Kamchatka," the statement reads.
The union also reported that temporary restrictions have been imposed on visiting nature parks in Kamchatka due to increased seismic activity.
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 repeated earthquakes with a magnitude of between 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 following 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.