Tsunami Alert Lifted After Earthquakes Off Russian Coast

Following a series of powerful earthquakes off the coast of Russia's Far East on Sunday, a tsunami alert was lifted. The Russian emergencies ministry confirmed that the seismic activity did not generate any dangerous waves.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Geological Survey had issued a tsunami alert. This followed a 7.4-magnitude earthquake, the strongest in a series of tremors in the northern Pacific Ocean. The USGS had predicted potentially hazardous waves.

The USGS estimated wave heights of between 30 centimeters and one meter for Russian coasts. They anticipated smaller waves, less than 30 centimeters, for Japan and Hawaii.

Local authorities, including the governor, confirmed that the tsunami threat to populated areas in Kamchatka had passed. The governor also cautioned about the possibility of aftershocks, which are common during seismic events.

The epicenter of the earthquakes was located in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 150 kilometers east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The series of aftershocks included a 6.7-magnitude quake.

The Russian emergencies ministry had initially anticipated waves of up to 60 centimeters in the Commander Islands and waves of 15 to 40 centimeters in the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Kamchatka Peninsula is a seismically active region due to its location at the convergence of tectonic plates. Historically, the area has experienced significant earthquakes.