Tsunami threat: People evacuated from Russian islands

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia), Feb 28 : Residents of Kuril Islands in Russia's Far East were being evacuated due to the threat of tsunami roused by a quake in Chile, an official said.

The expected height of waves to hit the regional coast is some 2 metres, spokesman for the local administration said.

"The inland of the North Kuril Islands is not subjected to the threat," he said.

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile in the early hours of Saturday killing at least 300 people.

The tremor occurred some 89 km to the north of Chile's second largest city Concepcion, some 341 km from capital Santiago.