A magnitude-8.7 earthquake in Russia's Far East early Wednesday prompted tsunami warnings in parts of Japan, Alaska and Hawaii. Damage and evacuations were reported in the Russian regions nearest the quake's epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 meters (yards) above tide level were possible along some coastal areas of Hawaii, Chile, Japan and the Solomon Islands. Waves of more than 3 meters (yards) were possible along some coastal areas of Russia and Ecuador. Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami alert for Japan’s Pacific coast, saying waves up to 3 meter (yards) could arrive along the northern Japanese coasts less than half an hour after the alert. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami had been generated by the quake that could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands. The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. Japan and the U.S. Geological Survey later updated their measurements to 8.7 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 19.3 kilometers (12 miles). The quake was about 250 kilometers (160 miles) away from Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan’s NHK television. Russia's Tass news agency reported from the biggest city near the epicenter, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, that many people ran out into the street without shoes or outerwear. Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildings shook noticeably. The National Tsunami Warning Center, based in Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and a watch for portions of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hawaii. Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000.