MOSCOWA slammed Wednesday off the Far East coast of Russia, sending some terrified inhabitants running from houses, flooding a fishing port with tidal waves, and suffering only minor injuries. It also cut off power to some places.
Authorities in the area claim they were ready for the waves that followed and acted swiftly to protect locals. Although they claimed there was no significant damage, they declared a state of emergency in some places.
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What you should know about the regions of Russia affected by the earthquake and tsunami is as follows:
Peninsula of Kamchatka
One of the planet’s most active volcanic regions, Kamchatka is known as the “land of fire and ice.” According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, out of its approximately 300 volcanoes, 29 are still active. The peninsula is located near an ocean trench where two tectonic plates meet, and it frequently experiences earthquakes and tsunamis.
Nine time zones east of Moscow, the 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) peninsula overlooks the Sea of Okhotsk on its west shore and the Pacific Ocean on its east. About 290,000 people live in Kamchatka and a few neighboring islands, with 162,000 of them residing in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, which is located in Avacha Bay in the southeast of the peninsula.
The peninsula has very few roads, and most places can only be reached by helicopter. The primary economic activity is fishing. Avacha Bay is home to a significant Russian nuclear submarine station.
Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the biggest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere, is the tallest at 4,750 meters (15,584 ft). On its western slopes, observers reported hearing explosions and seeing lava streams, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences geophysical service’s Kamchatka section.
With the mountain releasing ash plumes and the volcano’s crater filled with lava for weeks, scientists have been expecting the eruption for a while.
The islands of Kuril
The four volcanic islands, referred to as the Kurils in Russia, are located between Kamchatka and Hokkaido in Japan.
in the latter days of World War II by the Soviet Union from Japan. The conflict has prevented the nations from signing a peace treaty because Japan claims territorial rights to the islands it refers to as the Northern Territories.
Around 20,000 people live on the islands, and fishing is the main source of income for the locals. By renovating an air base from the Soviet era and other outposts, the Russian military has increased its presence in the region.
The effects of the tsunami and earthquake
Authorities on the Kurils and Kamchatka claimed to have been ready for a significant earthquake for a long time and to have taken prompt action to safeguard the populace.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck around 11:24 a.m. local time (2324 GMT Tuesday, 7:24 p.m. EDT Tuesday) at a depth of roughly 21 kilometers (13 miles), with a center of approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There were several aftershocks with magnitudes as high as 6.9.
Since the 9.1 magnitude earthquake that struck off northeastern Japan in March 2011, this one seems to be the strongest on record. have only ever been measured in one location.
Although they could not provide further details, regional officials on Kamchatka said that multiple persons were hurt. Oleg Melnikov, the head of the regional health department, said that a hospital patient was hurt when he leaped out of a window, among other injuries sustained during evacuations. “Everything was in good condition,” he remarked.
Russian media footage showed medical professionals on Kamchatka holding a patient and equipment while the operating room trembled during the procedure. A kindergarten in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was damaged by the earthquake, although no children were present because the building was closed for renovations. After inspecting roughly 600 apartment structures, municipal officials declared that no evacuations were necessary.
Because of its location on Avacha Bay, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was shielded from large tsunami waves. About 60 tourists were evacuated by emergency personnel from a black volcanic sand beach on the Pacific side.
According to Russia’s Oceanology Institute, the largest tsunami waves were less than 6 meters (about 19 1/2 feet) close to populated portions of the peninsula and the neighboring Kuril islands, while certain parts of the Kamchatka coast may have had waves as high as 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 ft).
Residents of Severo-Kurilsk, the capital of the Kurils, were evacuated by authorities from dangerous regions and relocated farther inland.
Kurilsk-Severo According to Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov, the fishing port and a fish factory were inundated by tsunami waves, which also carried fishing boats out to sea. Authorities are examining the damage after the water caused a power outage.
As the earthquake struck, a number of sea lions jumped collectively from a rocky outcropping on Antsiferov Island and swam away, according to a tour guide who was sailing with tourists in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kurils.
Alexander Bogoslovskiy, the tour organizer, stated that all of the passengers were safe from the effects of the earthquake and tsunami, but that the sea lions appeared extremely frightened and that a tremendous rumble started.
Buildings withstood the shocks, people were evacuated promptly, and the seismic warnings were given in a timely manner, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
