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Moderate quake hits Russia's Far East island of Sakhalin
MOSCOW (AFP) Dec 19, 2003
 An earthquake measuring up to 4.3 on the Richter scale hit the island of Sakhalin in Russia's far east early Friday, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

There were no reports of damage or casualties, local emergency ministry officials said, adding that the quake's epicenter was located some 550 kilometers (340 miles) north of the island's largest city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Sakhalin Island, in the Okhotsk Sea north of Japan, is in a zone frequently subjected to seismic tremors, and has been the scene of several major earthquakes.

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