Earthquake in Kamchatka led to evacuation of almost three thousand residents of the Kuril Islands

Nearly 2,700 residents of the Kuril Islands, including about 600 children, were urgently evacuated to safe zones after a tsunami warning was issued. The natural disaster was caused by the most powerful earthquake in recent decades that occurred off the coast of Kamchatka. This was reported to TASS by representatives of the region's emergency services.

According to the press service of the Sakhalin Region government, tsunami waves reached the tent camp of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) and flooded it. Fortunately, human casualties were avoided.

"Thanks to timely notification, no one was injured. 30 expedition participants were promptly moved to a safe zone. A special shift vehicle was sent for their evacuation," the press service noted.

According to operational services, the flooded camp was located at Cape Kurbatov on Shumshu Island.

On the morning of July 30, the region was shaken by an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.7 - the most powerful since 1952. The main shock was followed by a series of aftershocks. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a partial collapse of a kindergarten facade was recorded, and the number of ambulance calls increased significantly.

In the Sakhalin Region, the disaster led to flooding of the port of Severo-Kurilsk and a local fishing enterprise. A wave up to 30 centimeters high even reached the shores of Japan. Specialists from the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported the registration of more than 50 seismic events in Kamchatka after the main earthquake.