Many homeless after Russia quake

The main quake was followed by a series of aftershocks

More than 2,400 people have been left homeless after last week's strong earthquake on Russia's far eastern island of Sakhalin, officials say.

Worst hit was the town of Nevelsk, where dozens of houses were damaged in the 2 August tremor. A state of emergency was declared there.

Evacuation and resettlement efforts in Nevelsk are being hampered by fresh aftershocks.

The earthquake killed two people and injured at least 13 people.

Officials in Nevelsk said 710 people had been evacuated from the town by Thursday morning and many more would follow as fresh aftershocks made more buildings unstable.

About 100 houses on the island have already been damaged.

The new Sakhalin regional governor, Alexander Khoroshavin, said that dealing with the aftermath was his top priority and "no victim will be forgotten".

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed his predecessor Ivan Malakhov at his own request.

The move followed criticism of Mr Malakhov's handling of the quake aftermath.

The earthquake, measuring 6.8, struck off Sakhalin at midday. It was followed by a series of aftershocks.