The magnitude 8.8 quake is believed to be the joint sixth-largest on record, though only minor injuries near the epicenter have been reported.

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula Tuesday triggered tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean. Russia said the shallow quake caused damage in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and elsewhere on the peninsula and flooded the Kuril Islands with waves as high as 19 feet.

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia's sparsely populated Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. Several people were injured,