One of the most powerful earthquakes in modern history shook Russia’s remote east coast Wednesday, sending tsunami waves hurtling across the Pacific Ocean and putting nations from Japan to the United States to Chile on high alert with millions urged to evacuate.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System (tsunami.gov) will be updating its guidance as experts learn more about the threat, including maps showing what areas face what risks. In the minutes and hours after a major earthquake,

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s eastern coast on late Wednesday morning, local time. The quake triggered tsunami waves across the Pacific that hit Russia, Japan, Canada and parts of the US coast.

When a magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday, officials warned that damaging tsunami waves could follow. Instead, the waves that reached Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast proved smaller than initially feared.

A tsunami sent waves into parts of Russia, Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the Russian Far East early Wednesday. The quake was one of the biggest ever recorded.