Hours after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the Russian coast, becoming one of the strongest tremors ever recorded, tsunami waves arrived in Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast following efforts to get hundreds of thousands away from coastlines and to higher ground.

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula has triggered tsunami warnings in Japan and several states in the western United States, including Hawaii, Alaska and California.

A tsunami advisory was also issued for parts of Alaska and the entire West Coast after a powerful earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.