Shallow magnitude 8.8 quake hit near Russia\u2019s Kamchatka peninsula prompting warnings as far away as New Zealand and California<\/p>\n
Follow it live: Japan and Pacific brace for tsunami waves<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Full report: powerful quake sparks Pacific-wide warnings<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n An 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit off Russia\u2019s Kamchatka Peninsula early on Wednesday has caused tsunami waves in Russia, Japan and Alaska and prompted warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand<\/strong>.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 metres above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan, Solomon Islands, Russia and Ecuador.<\/p>\n The earthquake was the strongest in the region since 1952<\/a>, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, and struck at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles)<\/strong>. It was centred 126km (80 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city along Russia\u2019s Avacha Bay. Early reports of damage have come from Russia, with Kamchatka\u2019s governor describing the quake in a post on Telegram as \u201cserious and the strongest in decades of tremors\u201d. A kindergarten in the area had been damaged, he said.<\/p>\n A tsunami wave swept away buildings on the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia\u2019s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, <\/strong>according to local officials<\/strong>. The regional authorities declared a state of emergency but mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said all residents were safe and had been evacuated. The country\u2019s emergency ministry said parts of the town had been flooded.<\/p>\n Japan issued evacuation warnings <\/strong>and officials said three tsunami waves had been recorded, the largest of which was 60cm<\/strong>.<\/strong> Officials said waves up to 3 metres could arrive along the northern Japanese coast. Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan were evacuated<\/strong>, with plant operator Tepco saying that \u201cno abnormality\u201d had been observed at the site. The Fukushima Daiichi plant went into meltdown after being hit by a tsunami in 2011.<\/p>\n