New Delhi, July 31 -- A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the strongest in Russia's Far East since 1952 - struck near Kamchatka's coast Wednesday, causing buildings to shake violently for three minutes in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, home to 165,000 people.

Just hours later, the towering Klyuchevskoy volcano 280 miles north began erupting, with lava flowing down its slopes and explosions lighting up the sky . While several people suffered minor injuries from panic, officials confirmed no deaths from either disaster thanks to early warnings and sturdy buildings.

The shallow quake triggered tsunami warnings across 40+ Pacific nations. Russia's Kuril Islands saw 16-foot waves flood Severo-Kurilsk port, sweeping away boats and storage contain...