NEWS: Hawaii, Alaska Brace for Tsunami; California under Tsunami Watch after Powerful Earthquake

UPDATE: Tsunami warnings have been lifted.

We’ve got breaking news coming out of Hawaii that you need to know about ASAP.

An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Russia earlier today, July 29th. Now, a tsunami warning is in effect for Hawaii, as well as Alaska, and parts of Japan. Here’s what you need to know.

According to ABC News, the 8.7 magnitude earthquake happened 85 miles off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and had a depth of about 12 miles. Afterwards, 6.3 and 6.9 aftershocks were reported.

A tsunami warning has been issued for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and Hawaii, and a tsunami advisory has been issued for California, Oregon and Washington. Guam is under a tsunami watch. According to Oahu Emergency Management, destructive waves are expected to arrive later tonight. Currently, tsunami sirens are going off on all Hawaii islands as a part of their statewide warning system. They will continue to go off ten minutes after the hour for the next three hours to continue warning people to prepare. People in coastal areas are urged to evacuate immediately as all shores of the islands are at risk of being affected.

In Japan, a tsunami about 1 meter (3 feet) high is expected to reach Hokkaido in the north around 10:00 AM local time, with additional waves arriving later in the day along parts of eastern Honshu and Kyushu in the south.