Quakes in Iran and Russian Far East

-->

5.3-magnitude earthquake jolts northwestern Iran

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale has struck the Iranian province of East Azarbaijan, just three days after two powerful earthquakes killed 306 people and injuring over 3,000 in the northwestern province.

Press TV,

14 August, 2012

The tremor occurred on Tuesday at 6:32 p.m. local time. Its epicenter was located in the Varzaqan districts, about 85 kilometers (52.8 miles) northeast of Tabriz at a depth of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles).

There have been no deaths and no injuries reported so far.

On Saturday, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Ahar, near the provincial capital Tabriz, at 3:53 p.m. local time (1123 GMT). The quake struck 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Tabriz at a depth of 9.9 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Another quake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted the Varzaqan and Haris districts, which are located near Ahar, 11 minutes later at a similar depth. The epicenter of the quake was 49 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Tabriz.

Twelve villages in Varzaqan district were completely destroyed by the earthquakes and about 60 others were partially destroyed.

At least 20 aftershocks rocked the area afterwards.

On Monday, Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi said that the death toll from the two powerful earthquakes in East Azarbaijan Province had risen to 306 and 3,037 people were injured. 

-->

Earthquake strikes off Russian coast

A POWERFUL 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck in the Sea of Okhotsk off the east Russian coast early today, US and Japanese monitors said, with the tremor felt as far away as Tokyo.

From the Extinction Protocol

the Australian,

14 August, 2012

The quake occurred at 1259 AEST some 158km east of Poronaysk, Russia, with the epicenter a comparatively deep 625km down, the US Geological Survey said in an initial report.

Japan's Meteorological agency said the tremor was felt throughout the country's northern island of Hokkaido, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a first and final bulletin that a destructive tsunami was not expected.

The earthquake caused a jolt in the Japanese capital Tokyo, AFP journalists said. The area around Japan is regularly hit by powerful quakes and is the site of the convergence of several of the Earth's tectonic plates.