A tsunami warning alert has been issued for the U.S. West Coast, Japan, Hawaii and portions of Alaska's Aleutian Islands following a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia on July 29.

Emergency officials warned of "destructive tsunami waves" and told people to leave coastal areas, causing traffic jams in Honolulu as people hurried to higher ground. The tsunami advisory said to "stay out of the water and away from beaches and waterways."

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).