A moderate earthquake struck the far eastern Russian island of Sakhalin midday Thursday killing at least two people, Russian news agencies reported.

Emergencies Ministry spokesman Georgy Glukhov said a 23-year-old woman was killed when part of a building's wall collapsed on her, the Novosti news agency reported. At least one other person has been reported dead.

At least 600 people were homeless and 15 buildings had been declared off limits until they are repaired, Interfax reported. A spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry said that all the people displaced by the quake are staying with relatives or have been given emergency shelter, some of them in tent camps.

The quake measured above 6 on the Richter scale and generated 2-foot-high tsunami waves on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, Novosti said.
Much of the damage was reported in industrial areas, although emergency shelters were set up for the 24,500 residents, Itar-Tass reported.

In 1995, a major earthquake killed some 2,000 people on Sakhalin, Interfax said. (c) UPI