Thousands of starfish washed ashore on Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East

On November 1, residents of the village of Starodubskoye on Sakhalin Island in the Far East of Russia eye-witnessed consequences of a very strange natural phenomenon. People saw that the beach in the area of the settlement was dotted with thousands of starfish.

A similar incident was reported on the south-eastern coast of Sakhalin. The phenomenon may have occurred as a result of a mild earthquake that local residents experienced at night of November 1.

Deputy Director for Science of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Dmitry Galanin, said that bottom-dwelling invertebrates washed up ashore could be a common occurrence after a violent storm.

"If there is a strong wind blowing towards the shore, it creates a big wave, the power of which may reach the bottom of the sea. Starfish live at shallow depths of up to five meters and even less," the scientist said.

Pravda.Ru

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