Russia declares emergency in northern Kuril Islands

The Russian authorities today declared a state of emergency in the northern Kuril Islands, where a tsunami hit a coastal town following a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country’s Pacific coast.

“A state of emergency has been declared in the northern Kuril Islands region, where an earthquake and tsunami occurred today,” the Sakhalin Regional Government said.

Meanwhile, the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported that 30 additional earthquakes were recorded following the major earthquake that struck the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s far east today.

The service added in a Telegram post that the tremors ranged in intensity from 2 to 5 on the Richter scale.