TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s meteorological agency said on Wednesday that a powerful earthquake hit near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and issued a tsunami advisory for Japan.
A tsunami watch has also been issued a B.C.
The agency said the quake occurred at 8:25 a.m. (2325 GMT Tuesday) and registered a preliminary magnitude of 8.0. It issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to 1 meter (yard) along the Pacific coast of Japan.
So far no damage has been reported.
The quake was about 250 kilometers (160 miles) away from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost of the country’s four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan’s NHK television.
The U.S. Geological Survey said it hit at a depth of 19.3 kilometers. There was no immediate information from Russia about how Kamchatka was affected.
A tsunami watch, which is a relatively low-level warning, has been issued for Hawaii.
A University of Tokyo seismologist Shinichi Sakai told NHK that a distant earthquake could cause a tsunami that affects Japan if its epicenter is shallow.
Japan, part of the area known as the Pacific ring of fire, is one of the world’s most quake-prone country.
