A cape on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk on Kunashir Island. Archival photoYUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, January 21 An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred near the southern Kuriles in the Pacific Ocean, RIA Novosti was told in the Sakhalin branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"Earthquake of magnitude 5 ,2 occurred at 10:59 local time (2:59 Moscow time — ed.) with an epicenter 80 kilometers east of the village of Malokurilskoye on the island of Shikotan, at a depth of 60 kilometers", the branch said.
As experts said , the push was felt by residents of settlements on the islands of Kunashir and Iturup. The perceptibility of a seismic event was from two to three points. Rescuers did not receive distress signals. At the moment, the task force is inspecting the buildings for possible damage.