One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded has sent a tsunami crashing into a Russian port and smaller waves barreling across the Pacific to the Americas and south to New Zealand.

A tsunami advisory was also issued for parts of Alaska and the entire West Coast after a powerful earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

Tsunami warnings and advisories were issues around the Pacific Ocean after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Russia, the largest earthquake since the 2011 earthquake and resulting tsu