The head of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk seismological station said that residents of Severo-Kurilsk had felt the 5.0 magnitude tremor.
"The 5.0 magnitude earthquake was registered at 8:28 a.m. on November 14 [20:28 on Friday GMT] 95 kilometres [over 59 miles] east of the town of Severo-Kurilsk at a depth of 50 kilometres," the head of the station added.
The Kuril Islands are located in a seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire, which is regularly affected by powerful earthquakes. On November 5, 1952, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a huge tsunami that devastated Severo-Kurilsk, leaving more than 2,300 people killed.
Earlier this month, another 5.0 magnitude earthquake was registered in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of the northern Kuril Islands.
