A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck in the Pacific off the far eastern coast of Russia near a major naval base early Sunday, but there were no early reports of damage or injuries.
The quake prompted a tsunami warning that was later lifted.
The earthquake occurred 29 kilometres below the surface and its epicentre was about 102 kilometres east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a port city of more than 181,000 people surrounded by volcanoes and sits across a bay from an important Russian submarine base.
The U.S. National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu initially warned that hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 300 miles (480 kilometres) of the earthquake epicentre, but later announced the threat had ended.
The centre said minor sea level fluctuations could occur in some coastal areas near the earthquake site for several hours.