Fears of a devastating tsunami across the Pacific faded Wednesday after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off a sparsely populated Russian peninsula, but communities along South America’s Pacific coast carried out evacuations and closed beaches.

A tsunami warning issued for Hawaii after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded, an 8.8 magnitude in Russia's Far East, was canceled after small waves peaked.

A massive 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s eastern coast early Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific and along the U.S. West Coast.