Russia quake: Millions return home as Pacific tsunami warnings lifted

Tsunami warnings were lifted across the Pacific Rim on July 30, allowing millions of temporary evacuees to return home.

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PUERTO AYORA, Ecuador -

After one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded rattled Russia's sparsely populated Far East, more than a dozen nations - from Japan to the US to Ecuador - warned citizens to stay away from coastal regions.

Storm surges of up to 4m were predicted for some parts of the Pacific, after the 8.8-magnitude quake struck off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula.

The tsunami warnings caused widespread disruption. Peru closed 65 of its 121 Pacific ports, and the authorities in Maui cancelled flights to and from the Hawaiian island.

But fears of a catastrophe were not realised, with country after country lifting or downgrading warnings and telling coastal residents they could return.

In Japan, almost two million people had been ordered to higher ground, before the warnings were downgraded to an advisory for large stretches of its Pacific coast, with waves of up to 0.7m still being observed on July 31.

"We urge the public not to go in coastal waters, and please stay away from coasts," a seismologist at Japan's meteorological agency said.