A powerful earthquake off Russia’s east coast triggered tsunami waves across the Pacific, prompting alerts in Hawaii and California.

Hawaii officials say the timing of the tsunami warning and evacuation orders following this week's massive earthquake off Russia helped make for severe traffic congestion in some areas.

Japan's meteorological agency said the quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 and issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to 1 meter (yard) along the Pacific coast of Japan