An 8.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, triggering tsunami alerts and evacuation orders across several Pacific coastal regions.

The quake occurred around 11:30am local time, around 136km southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and was the strongest in the area since 1952, according to the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, RT reported. 

The first tsunami waves reached Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, washing away a fish processing plant and flooding a local port. A 3-4-meter wave was recorded in Kamchatka’s Elizovsky district, while Russia’s Oceanology Institute said waves near the epicenter in southeastern Kamchatka and the Northern Kurils may have reached 10-15 meters. All coastal areas were evacuated.

In Japan, tsunami waves were observed along the Hokkaido coast. The authorities initially issued evacuation orders for more than 1.9 million people across 21 Pacific coast prefectures but later downgraded several to ‘lower-level advisories’.

The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued an advisory for the entire US West Coast, as well as parts of Canada and Alaska. Elevated sea levels were reported in Washington, Oregon, and California, though no damage has been confirmed. In Hawaii, an initial warning was downgraded to an advisory, with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cautioning that sea level changes and strong currents may still endanger swimmers, boaters, and those near beaches, harbors, and marinas.

Tsunami advisories and alerts were also issued in the Philippines, Guam, Chile, New Zealand, and several other Pacific regions.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an interactive map showing the quake’s epicenter and the spread of tsunami warnings, advisories, and threats across the Pacific.