A strong earthquake struck Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula region early on Friday local time, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, in an initial wire report carried by Reuters late Thursday evening Eastern time.
The quake was measured at magnitude 7, with a depth of about 140 kilometres (87 miles). Depth matters in earthquakes of this size: a deeper rupture generally spreads its energy over a wider area and can reduce the intensity of shaking at the surface compared with a shallow quake of the same magnitude.
The first reports carried no confirmed information on casualties, damage or any tsunami threat, and officials had not issued detailed assessments in the initial wire copy.
Kamchatka, in Russia's far east, is one of the world's most seismically active regions, sitting along the Pacific Ring of Fire. OTMedia will update this story as official assessments are published.
