A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering tsunami alerts for the U.S. West Coast and prompting evacuation warnings in Hawaii.

A tsunami has hit coastal areas of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s large northern island of Hokkaido after a powerful, 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia early Wednesday.

The quake was about 160 miles away from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost of the country’s four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan’s NHK television.