Moscow: A massive earthquake jolted Russia's Kamchatka region on Saturday. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake of magnitude 7.4 on Richter Scale hit the east coast of the Kamchatka region.
So far, there are no reports of any casualties. A tsunami has been issued by the US Tsunami Warning System after the earthquake. The extent of collateral damage due to strong tremors triggered by the earthquake is also not known.
Several visuals of buildings shaking after the quake struck the region surfaced online.
The quake's epicentre was 111.7 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and had a depth of 39 km, according to the USGS.
In July this year also, Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula was hit by an earthquake of magnitude of 8.8.
Why Kamchatka Is Prone To Earthquake?
Kamchatka is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone that encircles the Pacific Ocean. This 40,000-kilometre horseshoe-shaped belt accounts for approximately 90 per cent of the world's earthquakes and about 75 per cent of active volcanoes.
The Ring of Fire stretches from the southern tip of South America, up through North America's west coast, across the Bering Strait, down through Japan and the Philippines, and all the way to New Zealand, even linking back through volcanic regions of Antarctica.
The area of geological instability has gained its reputation due to plate tectonics, which involves massive slabs of the Earth's crust that continuously shift and collide. When one of these plates slides beneath another, a process known as subduction, it creates deep ocean trenches and volcanic arcs that form mountains. This underground struggle can result in violent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
