One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russias far east early on Wednesday, causing tsunami waves to wash ashore in Japan and Alaska and prompting calls for people around the Pacific to be on alert and move to higher ground.
The 8.8-magnitude temblor set off warnings in Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south towards New Zealand.
Heres a glance at some of the most powerful earthquakes recorded previously, according to the US Geological Survey.
1. Biobo, Chile : A 9.5-magnitude earthquake struck in a central region of Chile in 1960. Known as the Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake, the largest ever recorded temblor resulted in more than 1,600 deaths in the country and beyond, most of which were caused by the resulting large tsunami. Thousands of people were injured.
2. Alaska : In 1964, a 9.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the Alaskas Prince William Sound, lasting for almost five minutes. More than 130 people were killed in the largest recorded earthquake in the US and subsequent tsunami. There were huge landslides and towering waves that caused severe flooding. The event was followed by thousands of aftershocks for weeks after the initial quake.
3. Sumatra, Indonesia :A 9.1-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated south-east and south Asia and east Africa in 2004, killing 230,000 people. Indonesia alone recorded more than 167,000 deaths as entire communities were wiped out.
4. Tohoku, Japan : A 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of north-east Japan in 2011, triggering a towering tsunami that smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant. It knocked out power and cooling systems and triggered meltdowns in three reactors. More than 18,000 people were killed in the quake and tsunami, some of whom have never been recovered.