Powerful earthquake hits off far east coast of Russia

Petropavosk-Kamchatsky,  (AP): A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck in the Pacific off the far eastern coast of Russia near a major naval base early Sunday, but there were no early reports of damage or injuries.

The quake prompted a tsunami warning that was later lifted.

The earthquake occurred 18 miles (29 kilometres) below the surface and its epicenter was about 63 miles (102 kilometers) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the US Geological Survey said.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a port city of more than 181,000 people surrounded by volcanoes and sits across a bay from an important Russian submarine base.

The US National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu initially warned that hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 300 miles (480 kilometres) of the earthquake epicentre, but later announced the threat had ended.

The centre said minor sea level fluctuations could occur in some coastal areas near the earthquake site for several hours. (AP)