Warnings, advisories and watches were issued in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's coast.

"It's not one that's going to cause mass devastation. But it will cause coastal flooding and it will cause damage and it does put lives at risk if people don't move to high ground," an oceanography professor says.

ABC News foreign correspondent Britt Clennett says Japan is being extra cautious due to the country's history with earthquakes and tsunamis — referencing the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Authorities issued tsunami alerts for Hawaii, Alaska and parts of the U.S. West Coast after a massive earthquake struck off a peninsula in Russia’s far east.