Fears of a devastating tsunami across the Pacific were fading 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.

Warnings in the first hours after the 8.8 magnitude quake sent residents fleeing to rooftops in Japan and forced tourists out of beachfront hotels in Hawaii, snarling island traffic.

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.