Tsunami threat looms over Russia and Hawaii after series of earthquakes

The earthquake was 89 miles east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,which has a population of 180,000 (Picture: Getty)

A tsunami warning has been issued for parts of Russia after a series of earthquakes this morning.

Two powerful tremors – the larger with a magnitude of 7.4 – struck the sea near the Far East Kamchatka Peninsula,one of the most seismically and volcanically active regions in the world.

The larger quake was at a depth of 12 miles and was 89 miles east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,000.

A few minutes earlier,a second one with a magnitude of 6.7 was recorded nearby.

As a result,Hawaii had been put on a tsunami watch – a lesser threat than the warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center,but the US National Tsunami Warning Center cancelled this later.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry says a tsunami of up to 60 centimeters could reach the sparsely populated Aleutsky District on the Commander Islands.

Emergency services are closely monitoring the situation as aftershocks continue to rattle the coastal region.

The Kamchatka Peninsula lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire – a horseshoe-shaped tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes.

The location of the larger earthquake (Picture: Datawrapper)

Because of its coastal position,it is at constant risk of for tsunamis after underwater earthquakes.

When tremors of such magnitude hit the region,it also triggers the threat of a tsunami to locations like Hawaii,which lies thousands of miles away but is still extremely vulnerable.

Kamchatka still bears the scars of amagnitude 9.0 earthquake on November 4,1952.

It caused extensive damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 30-foot waves in Hawaii.