A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 shook the far eastern coast of Russia near a major naval base early Sunday. According to the authorities, there were no early reports of damage or injuries.
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, a port city of more than 181,000 people surrounded by volcanoes and sits across a bay from an important Russian submarine base, felt the jolts early Sunday.
Hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 300 miles (480 kilometres) of the earthquake epicentre, warned the US National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu initially but later announced the threat had ended.
The authorities said minor sea level fluctuations could occur in some coastal areas near the earthquake site for several hours.
