Japanese officials also downgraded tsunami warnings in the southern half of the country as 1.9 million residents faced evacuation orders along its Pacific coast.

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,

A tsunami advisory was also issued for parts of Alaska and the entire West Coast, stretching from the California-Mexico border up to the Alaska-British Columbia border.