Russia hit by magnitude 8.8 earthquake sending tsunami waves to U.S., Japan

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest recorded since the magnitude 9.0 earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami.

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. Several people were injured, but none gravely, and no major damage has been reported so far.

Authorities warned the risk from the magnitude 8.8 quake could last for hours, and millions of people potentially in the path of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or seek high ground. But the danger already appeared to be lessening, with Hawaii and parts of Japan downgrading their warnings.

Residents fled inland as ports flooded on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula near the quake’s epicenter, while frothy, white waves washed up on the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the sea.

People flocked to evacuation centers in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan’s nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.

Russian authorities said several people were injured, but said all were in stable condition, though they gave few details. In Japan, at least one person was injured.

A tsunami height of three to four metres (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka, 60 centimetres (two feet) on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, while tsunami waves about two to five feet high reached San Francisco early Wednesday, officials said.

Much of the West Coast, spanning California, Oregon, Washington state, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, were under a tsunami advisory.

Hawaii was still under a tsunami advisory as Wednesday began, but evacuation orders on the Big Island and Oahu, the most populated island, had been lifted.