Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the 8.8 magnitude quake’s epicenter flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Hawaii’s capital, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline.

The entire U.S. West Coast was facing a tsunami threat after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake erupted off Russia's eastern coast on Tuesday. A tsunami warning was issued in Hawaii, Northern California and in Alaska,