Residents of Sakhalin lay out in social networks videos and photos with a large number of starfish thrown out on Wednesday on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk near the village Starodubskoe Dolinsky district in the south-east of the island.

Judging by the video and photos, this part of the coast was covered with hundreds of stars. Some Sakhalin citizens in social networks shared the opinion that this may have been caused by an earthquake that occurred early in the morning on Wednesday in the Nevelsky district.

Dmitri Galanin, Acting Deputy Director for Science of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, called the release of so many stars ashore a common phenomenon after a violent storm.

“This is a common occurrence, especially after a violent storm, when it throws the bottom of invertebrates ashore. Such phenomena are not uncommon. It is important to look at the direction and strength of the wind in the storm. If the wind blows to the shore and is strong enough, it catches up a big wave. It is possible to calculate to what depth of the sea this or that wave of force is able to reach. And the stars begin to meet at a depth of 5 meters, and sometimes even closer, “- explained the scientist.

He recalled that at the beginning of this week Sakhalin was under the influence of another cyclone, and there was a strong storm in the sea.