Moscow | A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck near the east coast of Russia's Kamchatka region, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake's epicenter was 127 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and it struck at 6:58 am Friday local time, according to the USGS. It had a depth of 19.5 km.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning System briefly issued a tsunami threat but later lifted it.

The initial quake was followed by a series of aftershocks of up to magnitude 5.8.

The remote Kamchatka region has been hit by a series of powerful earthquakes over the past two months, including ones of magnitude 8.8, and two of magnitude 7.4.