8.8 magnitude earthquake hits Russia, triggers tsunami warnings across Pacific ocean

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Russian coast on Tuesday, triggering tsunami waves in Japan's Hokkaido and Russia's Kuril Islands. It is said to be the sixth strongest ever recorded. Following this, tsunami alerts have been issued in Hawaii, California, and Alaska. 

According to meteorologists, a 1-foot tidal surge was recorded near Amchitka in Alaska, around 5:14 p.m. Pacific Time. It is the highest water level above normal tide that has been recorded since the tsunami. 

The entire west coast of the US, along with Guam, the Philippines, and the Northern Mariana Islands, has been alerted to watch out for any dangerous signs in waves. Parts of Canada, Russia, Indonesia, and Japan are also warned. 

The earthquake hit just before 1:30 pm (Hawaii Standard Time), about 78 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia, said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. 

Currently, there is a watch on developing tsunami signs, if any. Alaska's Aleutian Islands and the whole of Hawaii are on a tsunami warning, while the California coastline has been put on a tsunami watch. 

According to the Associated Press, once the Honolulu Islands were put on a warning from a watch earlier, there were tsunami warning sirens all over. The government advisory stated that all shores are at risk, no matter the direction. Emergency response centers have been activated, and people are told to seek shelter at higher ground. 

Initially, the earthquake was recorded at a magnitude of 8.0, while it was upgraded to 8.7 and then 8.8 by the US Geological Survey. 

If the tsunami waves are likely to be dangerous, then the alert will be upgraded to an advisory. 

The earthquake left several people injured in Russia's Eastern Kamchatka peninsula. Vladimir Solodov, Kamchatka Governor, said, "Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors." 

It also led to evacuation orders on Japan's eastern coastline. In an updated advisory, it is expected that tsunami waves under 1m might reach parts of the Philippines and Indonesia by Wednesday afternoon. 

Before this, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in 2010 in Chile, claiming over 500 lives and leading to widespread destruction. While a 1906 earthquake in Ecuador and Colombia killed nearly 1500 people, it later triggered a tsunami.