VLADIVOSTOK, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Russian authorities have lifted the tsunami warning for the Kamchatka Peninsula after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck offshore Wednesday, the region's Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Lebedev announced on social media.
According to the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Unified Geophysical Service, the earthquake, the strongest in the region since 1952, occurred in the Avacha Bay area of the peninsula. In response, local authorities issued a tsunami alert for coastal areas along the bay.
The quake triggered a tsunami, with waves reaching 3 to 4 meters along the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Yelizovsky District, local emergency officials said. The tremor also caused power outages, intense shaking of vehicles and slowed Internet access.
In the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a state of emergency was declared. Mayor Yevgeny Belyaev said on social media that a wall at a local kindergarten collapsed due to the quake. Multiple residents sought medical attention following the incident, and all reported injuries have been treated, according to regional health authorities.
City officials are currently inspecting buildings, including residential complexes, to assess damage. Preliminary assessments show cracked plaster, damaged facades and halted elevator service in some structures, Belyaev added. ■