MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti)-More than 500 people have been evacuated from two towns seriously affected by a series of powerful earthquakes in the north of the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East, emergency services said Saturday.
In all, 309 people, including 231 children, have been moved from Korf and Tilichki to the town of Ossora about 220 kilometers (140 miles) further south. A total of 195 people (120 children) have been sent on to regional center Petropavolsk-Kamchatsky about 1,000 km (625 miles) to the south, where temporary accommodation has been set up and medical help is available.
The initial 7.8-magnitude quake, the strongest since 1900 in the Koryak area, which is eight time zones from Moscow, injured 31 people and damaged several buildings and facilities in Tilichiki, including a school, a kindergarten, a local airport's runway, and cut power and water supplies in several villages.
Earthquake aftershocks of Richter magnitudes of up to five continued through the night and today, and seismologists have warned of stronger quakes still to come.
