YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, August 2 (RIA Novosti) - Two people were killed when an earthquake hit the southern half of Sakhalin Island in Russia's Far East midday Thursday, a local emergencies ministry spokesman said.

The temblor, which measured 6-7 on the Richter scale, also generated two tsunami waves 20-30 centimeters high on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, the local meteorological service reported.

An Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman said 12 people were injured as a result. A tsunami warning was cancelled at 2:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. GMT).

A local seismologist said over 100 aftershocks have so far been registered.