New York Times: Kamchatka Earthquake May Have Damaged Russian Nuclear Submarine Base

A nuclear submarine base in Russia's remote Far East was damaged last week after one of the most powerful earthquakes in the region in decades, the "New York Times" reported, citing satellite images, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

Photos taken by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite imaging company, show damage to a floating pier at the "Rybachy" submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the newspaper reported.

A section of the pier appears to have broken away from its anchor point. Apart from the damaged pier, satellite images show no other major damage.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the information. Russia's Defense Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

On Wednesday, a very powerful earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale off the Russian coast of eastern Kamchatka triggered tsunami warnings as far as French Polynesia and Chile and was followed by an eruption of the peninsula's most active volcano, Reuters recalls.

The Rybachy nuclear submarine base, a strategic hub for Russia's Pacific Fleet, serves as a facility for the maintenance, deployment and operation of the country's nuclear submarines in the Pacific region.