Vue lecture

Why Did Such a Powerful Earthquake Generate Such a Weak Tsunami?

The quake in Russia on Wednesday was among the strongest ever recorded — but in many places, the resulting wave was small.

© Muneyoshi Someya/Kyodo News, via Associated Press

People who evacuated to higher ground in Ishinomaki, Japan, watching the sea on Wednesday.
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Powerful Earthquake Rattles Russia’s Far East But Causes Little Damage

A 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook the remote, sparsely populated Kamchatka region and set off tsunami waves. No serious injuries were reported, officials said.

© Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences, via Reuters

In this handout photo, tsunami waves flood an area after an earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday.
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In Kamchatka, Epicenter of the Russian Earthquake, Seismic Activity Is Common

Tremors are regularly reported in this remote Russian peninsula dotted with volcanoes, some of which erupt every year.

© Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

The Gorely volcano in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia in 2019.
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Russia’s Far East Suffers Some Damage From Earthquake and Tsunami

Regional authorities in one region declared an emergency after a tsunami hit the Kuril Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula was watching for volcanic activity.

© Governor of Kamchatka, via Reuters

A major earthquake damaged a building housing a kindergarten in the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
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Russia’s Far East Suffers Damage From Earthquake and Tsunami

Regional authorities in Sakhalin Oblast declared an emergency after a tsunami hit the Kuril Islands, and Kamchatka region was watching for volcanic activity.

© Administration of The Governor of Kamchatka Krai, via Reuters

The facade of a kindergarten was among the infrastructure in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky damaged by the quake.
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