Powerful quake hits Russia's Siberia

An earthquake measuring 6.6-magnitude on the Richter scale jolted Russia's southeastern Siberian republic of Tuva on Tuesday, said local emergency center.

The 6.6-magnitude quake that hit southwestern Siberia in Russia on Tuesday is located in red on the left of this map from the U.S. Geological Survey. [U.S. Geological Survey]?

The Siberian regional center of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said information available showed there was no damage or casualties in the quake-hit region.

"Everything is all right. Our dispatchers work round the clock and they did not receive any calls on any destruction," a spokesman for the regional center was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

The spokesman also said local residents were warned about the possibility of aftershocks and were advised to leave their homes.

The geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said the quake, with its epicenter registered at a depth of 10 kilometers some 120 km to the east of Kyzyl, capital city of the Tuva republic, occurred at 19: 21 Moscow time (1521 GMT).

The Kremlin press service said Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu had reported to President Dmitry Medvedev about the quake and the situation in the region.

"Rescue teams were working at the scene and relief work was continuing," the Kremlin said, adding that all necessary assistance has been provided to people.

Earlier, the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit the region with its epicenter at a depth of 6.90 km.