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() Hawaii, Alaska and the West Coast faced strong waves and lingering warnings Wednesday following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake that shook eastern Russia and sent aftershocks across the Pacific.
The quake was one of the strongest ever recorded, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The National Weather Service said the first waves hit the West Coast around 1 a.m. local time, and alerts followed across the Pacific in the hours since.
Major tsunami threats against the United States “passed completely” as of Wednesday morning, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, but advisories remained in place across parts of the West Coast.
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A pedestrian walks past a TV screen displaying a tsunami warning in Tokyo, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) -
A man walks past a tsunami evacuation route sign during a tsunami warning in Valparaiso, Chile, on July 30, 2025. One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four meters (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan. (Photo by CRISTOBAL BASAURE / AFP) (Photo by CRISTOBAL BASAURE/AFP via Getty Images) -
Ecuadorian Navy personnel receive tourists who were aboard boats and were evacuated due to a tsunami warning in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, on July 30, 2025. Ecuador ordered on Tuesday the preventive evacuation of beaches, docks, and low-lying areas in the tourist Galapagos Islands, 1,000 km from the mainland, due to a tsunami warning following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Russia, the Risk Secretariat reported. (Photo by Carlos Villalba / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS VILLALBA/AFP via Getty Images) -
Cars are at a standstill along the Pan-American Highway in Panama City, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, following a tsunami warning after a earthquake struck off the coast of Russia early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) -
This long exposure photograph shows waves crashing at the border wall on the Mexico-US border in Playas de Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, on July 30, 2025. The Mexican government asked Civil Protection authorities at all levels in the country to keep the population away from Pacific beaches, following a tsunami alert for a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. (Photo by Guillermo Arias / AFP) (Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images) -
Steller sea lions swim during a tsunami approaching the shore of the Antsiferov Island located in the northern Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nikita Sinchinov) -
Residents and visitors found themselves backed up in traffic as they try to leave the the Ala Way Harbor, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii on July 29, 2025, after an 8.8 earthquake off of Russia’s far east prompted tsunami alerts. (Photo by Eugene Tanner /GETTY-AFP) -
General view of Las Palmas Beach before the potential arrival of a tsunami in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, on July 30, 2025. Ecuador warned Tuesday of a “high probability” of a tsunami in the country as a result of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia, the Navy reported. (Photo by Antony Quintero / AFP) (Photo by ANTONY QUINTERO/AFP via Getty Images) -
A Los Angeles police department helicopter flies over Santa Monica beach, California, amid a tsunami warning on July 29, 2025. (Photo by Apu GOMES / GETTY-AFP)
affiliates KTLA, KHON and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
