Powerful earthquake at Russian coast: Far East hit with tremors of magnitude 7.4; 'hazardous' waves possible

An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck off Russian Far East's Kamchatka on Saturday, USGS reported.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that " hazardous " waves were possible along coasts within 300 kilometres of the epicentre. The centre later said "the tsunami threat... has now passed".

In July, a massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Kamchatka peninsula, unleashing tsunamis up to four metres high across the Pacific.

The quake, among the strongest ever recorded, triggered widespread evacuations, with Hawaii, Japan, and other coastal regions put on high alert as authorities braced for potential disaster.

In Japan, nearly two million residents were ordered to move to higher ground as tsunami warnings spread rapidly across the region.

Although alerts were later rescinded or downgraded, the quake was the most powerful since the devastating 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami that claimed over 15,000 lives, raising fears of a repeat catastrophe.