Powerful earthquake off Russia triggers tsunami fears for Japan and U.S.

One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck Wednesday in Russia’s Far East, triggering tsunami waves in Japan and Hawaii and prompting warnings and evacuations across the Pacific.

Hawaii has so far “not seen a wave of consequence, which is a great relief to us,” Gov. Josh Green said Tuesday after the first waves reached his state around 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 a.m. Wednesday ET). But he said it was too early to say whether the danger had fully passed.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later downgraded the tsunami warning for Hawaii to an advisory, as waves began to reach California and Washington state.

Earlier, the 8.8-magnitude quake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula sent a tsunami wave into the country’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, where the governor said residents were safe.

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