MOSCOW: An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter Scale, hit the Kuril Islands in Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula at around 1616 hrs local time, causing major tremors across the region.
The tremor struck 177 km south of Severo-Kuril'sk at a depth of 33 km, the USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located in Kronotsky Bay off the eastern coast of Kamchatka at a depth of about 120-130 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, according to the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Qatar News Agency reported.
According to the regional central board of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, residents of the cities of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Elizovo felt an earthquake of up to three points on Sunday.
The ministry added that there were no victims or casualties.