One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded occurred overnight, measuring 8.8 in magnitude, with a depth of 20.7 kilometers and its epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East, approximately 119 kilometers southeast of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Waves up to five meters high were generated as a result of the quake. The seismic event triggered a tsunami warning for the coasts of China, Japan, Russia, Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands, Polynesia, and the Philippines, leading to the full or partial closure of airports located in at-risk coastal areas. At least in Russia and Japan, at the time of writing, no deaths or serious damage have been reported, according to local authorities.

Several flights were canceled or delayed following the alert, particularly to, from, and within Hawaii. The affected carriers are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, WestJet, and Jetstar. Alaska Airlines in particular announced: "We are monitoring a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands and parts of Alaska and are evaluating our flight operations. We are suspending departures to the islands on Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines. As a precaution, flights to Hawaii are returning to the mainland or diverting as needed." Hawaiian ports are also blocked: the US Coast Guard has mandated that all commercial vessels evacuate and close them to incoming traffic.

Although some flights have resumed in the last few hours and the alert is gradually being lifted, anyone departing from one of the potentially affected coastal airports is advised to contact their airline before traveling to the airport. The alert has affected the following countries:

Russia (particularly the Kamchatka Peninsula and the city of Severo-Kurilsk); Japan (with evacuation recommendations for over two million people in 229 municipalities and waves recorded in several locations, including a 1.3-meter wave in the port of Kuji); Hawaii (where the first waves arrived and the highest reached 1.74 meters); United States (West Coast, particularly northern California, with waves recorded in Crescent City, and a warning also in effect for the west coast of Alaska); French Polynesia (with waves up to 4 meters forecast for the Marquesas Islands); Guam (alert initially issued and then withdrawn); Ecuador ;   Peru; Colombia (Pacific coast evacuation order); Chile; Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands; Vanuatu; Taiwan (waves reached the island); eastern China (waves forecast for coastal areas of Zhejiang and Shanghai, later lifted); New Zealand (all coastal areas, including North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, and the Chatham Islands); Philippines; Indonesia; Mexico (Pacific coast). The tsunami warning was lifted for Kamchatka after several hours, and some warnings were lifted elsewhere, but the situation is being closely monitored throughout the Pacific Ocean.