A huge earthquake off Russia’s eastern coast led to tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean.
The magnitude 8.8 quake is believed to be the joint sixth-largest on record. Warnings were issued as far away as Canada’s west coast, while some parts of Japan and Hawaii were given evacuation orders. Minor injuries were reported on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, near the quake’s epicenter.
Tsunami warnings have improved greatly in recent decades, since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which killed 228,000 people, and then the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake which devastated Japan. Most Pacific Rim nations have advanced warning systems and shelter routines, and Japan in particular now has a widespread undersea detection system for seismic activity.