A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on Monday afternoon, according to Russian geophysics officials.
The underground tremors occurred at 3:38 p.m. Moscow time on August 17, corresponding to 12:38 a.m. local time on August 18. The event was recorded by the Kamchatka Branch of the Federal Research Center Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Seismologists reported that the epicentre of the earthquake was located 94 kilometres south-east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the administrative centre of the Kamchatka region. The seismic focus was positioned at a depth of 44 kilometres below the seabed.
Experts classify a magnitude 5.4 event as a strong earthquake that is capable of causing moderate structural damage. However, regional emergency authorities received no reports of injuries or destruction, and officials declared no tsunami threat for the surrounding Russian territory.
Seismic activity on the Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula extends roughly 1,250 kilometres into the Russian Far East between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky serves as the main urban and administrative hub for the region.
The peninsula sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a major belt known for intense volcanic activity and frequent seismic events caused by shifting tectonic plates. Deep ocean trenches along the Kamchatka coast routinely trigger tremors of varying strength.
Earlier earthquake recorded near Sevastopol
The Pacific quake follows another seismic event recorded earlier off the coast of Sevastopol in Crimea. Seismologists registered those underground tremors during the night of Monday, August 17.
The Crimean earthquake registered a magnitude of 3.4. Seismologists classify a quake of that strength as a weak earthquake, with vibrations usually felt only by residents in the immediate area of the epicentre.
Sevastopol is a major port city situated on the south-western coast of the Crimean Peninsula along the Black Sea.
