A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East triggered a 5-meter tsunami nearby and prompted evacuation orders in the US state of Hawaii, Reuters reported. In Hawaii, waves as high as 1.7 meters hit the islands at around 10:50 p.m. local time (11:50 a.m. GMT). The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) lowered the alert level for the state, saying that no major tsunami was expected, BTA reported.
Residents in coastal areas were ordered to go to higher ground or to the fourth floor or higher in residential buildings, and the US Coast Guard ordered ships not to enter ports.
A short time later, flights to Honolulu airport resumed, the Department of Transportation said, while the main airport in Maui remained closed and passengers took shelter in the terminal.
Waves up to half a meter high were recorded as far away as California, and smaller waves reached the coast of the province of British Columbia in Canada. The US National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) reported that waves of about one meter were observed near the city of Crescent City, California.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a depth of 19.3 kilometers and its epicenter was 119 kilometers east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000 people, in the Kamchatka region of Russia's Far East.
The tsunami alert level for Hawaii, announced after the powerful earthquake, has been lowered to an advisory warning, local authorities said. "The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has lowered the alert level for the Hawaiian Islands to an advisory tsunami warning," reported in "Ex" Hawaii County Civil Defense.
"Unusually strong currents and waves are still possible near the coast and in harbors. Officials are assessing the damage but have not reopened evacuation zones along the coast. Stay away from these areas," the statement said. The evacuation order for coastal areas at risk of flooding was later lifted.