Pacific rim braces for tsunami after massive earthquake in Russia

Tokyo: Japan issued a tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake off the eastern coast of Russia on Wednesday morning local time.

The magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, according to the US Geological Survey.

Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii and parts of Alaska, and a tsunami watch is in force from the California-Mexico border to Chignik Bay, Alaska, according to the US National Weather Service's Tsunami Warning System. Guam is also under a tsunami watch.

The warning system flagged threats of tsunami waves hitting Japan, the Philippines, Russia, and some Pacific islands including Yap and the Marshall Islands.