© NASAThe 2009 eruption of Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands was captured in this photograph from the International Space Station.
The 2009 eruption of Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands was captured in this photograph from the International Space Station.
A magnitude 9 earthquake in that region in 1952 caused significant damage elsewhere on the Pacific Rim, and even less-powerful quakes have had effects throughout the Pacific Basin.
"There's not a large population in the Russian Far East, but it's obviously important to the people who live there. Thousands of people were killed in tsunamis because of the earthquake in 1952. And tsunamis don't stay home," said Jody Bourgeois, a University of Washington professor of Earth and space sciences.
