Tsunami alerts lifted in several nations after waves hit Russia, US, Japan following magnitude 8.8 quake off Russia's east coast

Tsunami waves have hit parts of Russia, Japan and the United States after a massive earthquake off the Russian coast, with alerts issued for dozens of other countries across Latin America, Asia and the Pacific.

- AGENCIES

But the danger appeared to be waning in some places, with the US state of Hawaii and Japan downgrading their warnings. Authorities on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands near the quake's epicentre also cancelled their tsunami warning on Wednesday evening after a flooded seaport town there had earlier been evacuated.

Residents in parts of coastal Pacific, Asian and Latin American areas remained ready for potential tsunami waves stemming from one of the largest quakes on record.