Quake rumbles off Kuril Islands in Pacific

TOKYO, April 7 (UPI) -- A 6.9-magnitude earthquake rumbled in the Pacific Ocean east of the Kuril Islands Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a major tsunami wasn't expected, but smaller tsunamis could occur within 62 miles of the quake's epicenter, about 185 miles from the island chain, CNN reported.

The sparsely populated island chain is under a jurisdictional dispute between Russia and Japan. The 56 islands stretch about 700 miles from Hokkaido, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia.