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Earthquake Of 5.5 Magnitude Hits Off Russia’s Kamchatka


An earthquake with a magnitude 5.5 has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean off the Kamchatka coast in Russia's Far East, according to U.S. scientists and Russian officials.

State-run TASS news agency quoted the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry on January 17 as saying the quake's epicenter was 94 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of 20 kilometers.

The earthquake was registered at 4:31 a.m. local time.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also recorded the quake, initially measuring it at 5.3 magnitude.

TASS said no injuries or damages have been reported, although residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky said they had felt the tremors.

The arc formed by the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kurile Islands between Russia and Japan is one of the most seismically active areas in the world.

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