Where was the earthquake in Russia - is 8.8 quake big, how bad is it, is it worst earthquake in history, what is the status of Fukushima?
The massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Russia could be one of the biggest ever recorded if its 8.8 magnitude remains unchanged.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the tremor off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula is tied for the sixth largest on record, along with a 2010 earthquake off the coast of Chile. It occurred at a depth of about 13 miles and was centered about 75 miles east-southeast of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
It is the world's largest earthquake since the 2011 earthquake off the coast of Japan, which had a magnitude of 9.1 and set off the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear meltdown. The biggest earthquake on record is the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile, which had a magnitude of 9.5.
The second biggest quake, with a magnitude of 9.2, struck Alaska in 1964 and was also at a subduction zone where the Pacific plate dives under the North American plate. While on a scale comparable to the Chile quake, the Alaskan earthquake killed fewer than 150 people, with 15 directly attributed to the earthquake and over 120 caused by a resulting tsunami.
The Great Tohuku earthquake that struck Japan in 2011 was of magnitude 9.1, but triggered a massive tsunami waves measuring over 40 metres tall in some areas, leading to over 15,000 deaths and displacing over 130,000 people. The US Geological survey said that the earthquake today was shallow, with its epicentre at a depth of about 19km (12 miles) and 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Russia’s remote Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city with a population of about 165,000 people.
No serious injuries or fatalities had been reported, according to Russia's Ministry for Emergency Services. The US Tsunami Warning System also issued a warning of "hazardous tsunami waves" within the next three hours.
Workers were evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan’s northeast after the country issued tsunami warnings. “We have evacuated all workers and employees” from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a spokesperson for the plant operator Tepco told AFP news agency, adding that “no abnormality” was observed at the site.