Seismic activity hits Central Asia, Russia's Kamchatka region

Several earthquakes hit Central Asia and Russia’s Far East on January 12, according to seismological authorities, though no damage or casualties were immediately recorded.

In Kazakhstan, an earthquake occurred near the country’s largest city, Almaty, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, Caliber.Az reports via Kazakh media. 

The tremor struck at 11:44 a.m. local time, with its epicentre located about 46 kilometres southeast of Almaty and 32 kilometres southeast of the town of Talgar. The EMSC estimated the magnitude at 2.9.

However, Kazakhstan’s National Scientific Centre for Seismological Observations and Research under the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported a higher magnitude of 4.0, adding that the tremors were not felt by residents.

Meanwhile, a stronger earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 was recorded in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, according to the local branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The quake occurred on the morning of January 12, with its epicentre located about 77 kilometres southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The seismic focus was at a depth of nearly 48 kilometres beneath the seabed.

The Kamchatka region remains seismically active. A day earlier, on January 10, another earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 struck off the east coast of the peninsula, with its epicentre about 178 kilometres from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

By Sabina Mammadli