A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Far East on Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific. The quake, one of the strongest ever recorded, sent waves into parts of Japan, Hawaii, and the US west coast. Several people were injured, but none gravely, and no major damage has been reported.
Japan was among the last countries to downgrade its warnings, with nearly two million people ordered to higher ground before the alert was reduced to an advisory. One person died and ten others were injured in Japan, mostly in Hokkaido, while evacuating. A woman in her 50s died after falling from a cliffside road in Mie Prefecture.
Hawaii lifted evacuation orders after the warning was downgraded to an advisory. The state's emergency management agency urged caution, stating that dangerous conditions are still possible in near-shore waters. In California, a 3.6ft wave was recorded at Crescent City, and authorities warned of dangerous currents.
Professor Ilan Kelman from UCL warned that the first tsunami wave is not usually the worst, citing the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami where second and third waves caused most deaths. He urged people not to return to the coast prematurely.
Authorities in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru have dropped alerts, while French Polynesia warned of waves up to 4 metres in the Marquesas Islands. The biggest wave so far reached 16ft in the disputed Kuril Islands shortly after the earthquake.
