8.3-magnitude earthquake in Sea of Okhotsk, in Russia’s Far East

A powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Far East with tremors felt as far away as Moscow, which was about 7,000 kilometers (4,400 miles) west of the epicenter. The earthquake took place in the Sea of Okhotsk, the western Pacific Ocean. Emergency agencies in the Far East issued a tsunami warning for Sakhalin and the Kuril islands, but lifted it soon afterwards. Details of the quake, from the USGS, are below:

Event Time
2013-05-24 05:44:49 UTC
2013-05-24 15:44:49 UTC+10:00 at epicenter
2013-05-24 00:44:49 UTC-05:00 system time
Location

54.874°N 153.280°E

Depth=608.9km (378.4mi)

Nearby Cities
362km (225mi) WSW of Esso, Russia
383km (238mi) WNW of Yelizovo, Russia
400km (249mi) NW of Vilyuchinsk, Russia
406km (252mi) WNW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia
2374km (1475mi) NNE of Tokyo, Japan

This area – located on the Ring of Fire – is one of the most seismically active in the world.

According to the Huffington Post:

Russian news agencies reported that residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Okhotsk Sea felt the tremors for about five minutes. Residents ran out of the buildings. School children were evacuated.

Bottom line: 8.3-magnitude earthquake in Russia’s Far East with tremors felt as far away as Moscow. Tsunami warning issues then rescinded.

What is the Ring of Fire?