Strong earthquake hits Siberia
Wednesday, 27 Aug 2008 11:18
A strong earthquake has hit the Lake Baikal region of Russia
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A strong earthquake has hit the Lake Baikal region of Russia, although there are currently no reported casualties.
According to the National Earthquake Centre the quake was of 6.3 magnitude and its epicentre was 49 miles south of Irkutsk.
The quake, measured at a depth of 6.2 miles, hit the Siberian region at around 10:35 local time (02:35 BST) on Wednesday morning with thousands of residents fleeing their homes.
Electricity supplies were cut for a number of hours as a result of the tremor, a spokesman for the regional department of the Russian ministry for emergency situations said.
Rescue services are reported to have been put on alert and a crisis centre has been set up.
Lake Baikal is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume and a popular tourist destination.