Beached whales spotted on Japan coast after Russia quake triggers Pacific tsunami
This comes after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's eastern coast.
The undersea quake, which hit near Petropavlovsk in the remote Kamchatka peninsula at 8.24am (local time), is one of the strongest ever recorded.
It triggered tsunami waves as high as four metres across parts of the Pacific Ocean, prompting widespread evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.
AFP reported that a tsunami hit and flooded the port town of Severo-Kurilsk in Russia, where about 2,000 residents were moved to safety.
Local media also recorded waves between three and four metres high in Kamchatka's Elizovsky district.
Footage on Russian social media showed buildings partially submerged in seawater. Several people sustained injuries, although none were reported to be serious.
Evacuation orders were issued in Japan's Hokkaido and Chiba prefectures, where rescue workers cordoned off beaches as waves began reaching the coastline.
"The seaside area is off limits until further notice," a rescue worker told AFP at Inage Beach in Chiba.
At the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant which was destroyed by a deadly tsunami in 2011, workers were temporarily evacuated as a precaution.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was among the top 10 largest ever recorded, and the strongest in the Kamchatka region since 1952.
It has since been followed by at least six aftershocks, including one measuring 6.9 in magnitude.
The US Tsunami Warning Centers said waves exceeding three metres were possible in Russia, the northwestern Hawaiian islands, and Ecuador, while one- to three-metre waves were expected in countries such as Japan, Chile, Guam and French Polynesia.
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