MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - More than 450 people have been evacuated from the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East struck by a powerful earthquake, the emergencies ministry said Sunday.

"A total of 454 people have been evacuated by now," the ministry said.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 points on the Richter scale hit the Koryak area on the Kamchatka Peninsula April 20, injuring at least 37 people. Tremor aftershocks of Richter magnitudes of about 5.5 points damaged infrastructure in the towns of Tilichiki and Korf, including residential buildings, schools and kindergartens and other facilities.

An emergency situation has been declared in the area. More than a thousand people have been involved in the effort to eliminate the effects of the earthquake, the ministry said.

The ministry's plane on Sunday delivered 32 tons of relief aid to the earthquake-stricken area, including food supplies, heaters, diesel generators and other necessities. The ministry's first plane flew to the disaster area Saturday, bringing in 17 tons of humanitarian aid.