Russian Seismologists Register 5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Near Kuril Islands

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2020) SAKHALINSK, Russia, November 14 (Sputnik) - A 5.0 magnitude earthquake was registered on Saturday in the Pacific Ocean near Russia's Kuril Islands, the regional branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian academy of Sciences (GS RAS) told Sputnik.

"The 5.0 magnitude earthquake was registered at 8:28 a.m.

on November 14 [20:28 on Friday GMT] 95 kilometers [over 59 miles] east of the town of Severo-Kurilsk at a depth of 50 kilometers," the head of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk seismological station said.

The head of the station added that residents of Severo-Kurilsk had felt the 4.0 magnitude tremor.

The Kuril Islands are located in a seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire, which is regularly affected by powerful earthquakes. On November 5, 1952, the 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a huge tsunami that devastated Severo-Kurilsk, leaving more than 2,300 people killed.