[kellyhound]

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggered tsunami waves of up to 5 metres (16 feet) and sparked evacuation orders in Hawaii and across the Pacific on Wednesday.

The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan's eastern seaboard - devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 - was ordered to evacuate.

A resident in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky said the shaking rumbled for several minutes.

"I decided to leave the building," said Yaroslav, 25. "It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least 3 minutes.”

Shortly after 0730 GMT, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of up to 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) were impacting the Hawaiian islands.

State Governor Josh Green had earlier said no waves of consequence had hit Hawaii but all flights in and out of Maui had been cancelled.

Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia's emergency ministry said.

"Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors," Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. Russian scientists said it was the most powerful quake to hit the region since 1952.

In Hawaii, coastal residents were told to get to high ground or the fourth floor or above of buildings, and the U.S. Coast Guard ordered ships out of harbours as the tsunami approached.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was shallow at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000.

It revised the magnitude up from 8.0 earlier, and reported a series of strong aftershocks up to a magnitude of 6.9.

Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan's Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people.

Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said.

Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed scores of people on the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering under tents from the beating sun, as fishing boats left harbours to avoid potential damage from the incoming waves.

Broadcaster Asahi TV reported a 58-year-old woman died when her car fell off a cliff while she was evacuating in central Japan's Mie prefecture.

[kellyhound]

[Mr.NoCredit]

I enjoyed seeing the cars rocking back and forth.

I was inside a bank vault in my past when I worked as a teller. I watched the doorway move back and forth while inside. It was nutty seeing that much metal move.

[kellyhound]

Kamchatka.

[William May]

It appears the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific is waking up. I heard some volcano in Russia started erupting again, and it has been silent for over 600 years previously.

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

It appears the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific is waking up. I heard some volcano in Russia started erupting again, and it has been silent for over 600 years previously.

[Cullen143]

These are wild. Thank you.

[Mr.NoCredit]

It’s nice to see a very alive Mother Earth.