Magnitude-7.4 Quake Rocks Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula over the weekend, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System initially issued a threat following the quake but later lifted it, Vishwam Sankaran reported for The Independent.

The quake comes just weeks after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake — the sixth strongest ever recorded — shook the same region in July. The USGS reported that the latest quake’s epicenter was 111.7 km (69.3 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of about 39 km (24 miles).

Officials said it was an aftershock of the July 29 quake and the largest to date following that “mainshock.”

The July event itself had been preceded by several foreshocks in previous months. Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates shift and grind against one another, releasing massive amounts of energy.