PETROPAVLOSVK-KAMCHATSKY, July 7 (RIA Novosti, Oksana Guseva) - An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula (the Russian Far East) Thursday.

Shocks of the earthquake, the epicenter of which was in the Kamchatka Strait separating the peninsula from the Kuril Islands, were recorded at 3.17 a.m. local time (6.17 a.m. Moscow time or 2.17 GMT), the local seismological service said.

The earthquake epicenter was 40 meters under the seabed. There were no reports of any casualties.

Another earthquake with a 4.9 magnitude occurred in the same area nine hours before. Aftershocks measuring 2 on the Richter scale were fixed in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional center.

The epicenters of the two earthquakes were some 300 kilometers far from each other.