Earthquake 8.8, tsunami waves reach Hawaii.

A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake has hit the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East of Russia, causing a tsunami of up to four metres high, damaging buildings and causing alarms and evacuations across the Pacific Ocean.

Some were injured in the remote Russian region, and residents of much of Japan's eastern coast, which was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, were ordered to evacuate. Today's “Earthquake was serious and the strongest in the last ten years”, the governor of Kamchatka said in the telegram.

The state of Hawaii, part of the Aleucian Islands of Alaska and part of Northern California are currently under warning of the worst tsunami alert, while the rest of the U.S. West Coast is under a warning for less serious tsunami.

The first tsunami waves have already hit Alaska and the waves are starting to hit Hawaii now.

The rest of the Western states of the United States are preparing for the wave impact expected in the next few hours.

The tsunami waves are now striking the state of Hawaii. Urgent action is needed to protect lives and property, the Cunam Warning Centre said in the Pacific (PTWC).

Previously it has been reported that Hawaii's coast is retreating, indicating that tsunami waves are approaching. According to a report by CNN's Brandon Miller, images were captured by internet cameras broadcasting live from the island.

Numerous cameras on the islands of Kauai and Oahu, located in the capital of Honolulu, have recorded a significant drop in water levels during the last hour. Such attraction is a characteristic and popular sign that precedes the impact of the tsunami's large waves. It's a phenomenon where the ocean first pulls off the coast before the tide arrives. /Periscope