Tsunami alerts were issued for Alaska and Hawaii on Tuesday after a major, 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Russia, according to officials.

Tsunami waves hit the West Coast of the United States after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the most powerful ever recorded, struck off Russia’s coast. The impact is causing piers to close in California amid tsunami advisories and water surging in Hawaii.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 - one of the world's strongest-struck Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula early on Wednesday, generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet).