Russia earthquake: Massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocks Kamchatsky

Japan issues tsunami forecast after earthquake

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a tsunami forecast covering wide areas along the Pacific coast, including Kochi Prefecture.

While minor sea-level changes are expected, the agency stressed there is no risk of tsunami damage, News.Az reports, with a tsunami of less than 0.2 meters forecast.

'Aftershock' to one of world's strongest quakes

This earthquake is an "aftershock" to the massive magnitude 8.8 quake that detonated off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula back in July.

Originating at a depth of roughly 20 kilometres, the powerful quake was among the 10 strongest in recorded history and the largest worldwide since 2011.

The massive event triggered Tsunami warnings and evacuations in Russia, Japan and Hawaii, with advisories issued for the Philippines, Indonesia, and as far away as New Zealand and Peru.

Last night's 7.4 magnitude earthquake appears to have been less disruptive.

Tsunami warning issued and then 'called off'

The US Tsunami warning system issued a threat following the quake, but it was later called off.

The USGS reported that the latest quake’s epicentre was 111.7km (69.3 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and at a depth of about 39km (24 miles).

Quake comes after one of the 'strongest ever' in same region

Last night's quake comes after a huge 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the sixth strongest ever recorded, hit the region in July.

The USGS has said this latest quake is an 'aftershock' from that massive seismic event, which hit the region on n 29 July sparking tsunami warnings across the Pacific.

USGS issue update

There has been no immediate reports of injuries or major damage, and the number of people living in and around the region is also “limited”, according to the USGS.

Why do earthquakes happen?

Earthquakes occur when rocky tectonic plates, floating on magma, rub against each other, releasing large amounts of energy.

As stress builds up due to tectonic plate movement, the built-up energy is released as seismic waves in what’s called a faulting mechanism.

Is there a tsunami warning?

There is curreently no tsunami warning, advisory, watch, or threat according to officials.

Where it happened?

The quake struck 69.1 miles west of Kamchatsky which has a population of 181k people.

The Kuril-Kamchatka Arc extends approximately 2,100 km from Hokkaido, Japan along the Kuril Islands and the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Kuril-Kamchatka Arc is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The largest megathrust earthquake to occur along the arc in the 20th century was the November 4, 1952 measuring 9.0 magnitude.