A strong earthquake measuring over 8.0 on the Richter scale struck off Russia’s eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The local emergency affairs minister said some areas were hit by tsunami waves 3 to 4 meters high.

The Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded its tsunami warning to a tsunami alert, predicting tsunami waves up to 3 meters high could reach large areas along the Pacific coast. NHK reported that the Japanese government has ordered evacuations.

The earthquake struck at approximately 7:30 a.m. Hong Kong time, initially registering a magnitude 8 in the United States before being upgraded to 8.7. The governor of Russia’s Kamchatka region said the earthquake was the strongest in decades and issued a tsunami warning, urging people to stay away from the coastline.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said dangerous tsunami waves generated by the earthquake could affect parts of the Russian and Japanese coasts within the next three hours.

The Hong Kong Observatory also recorded the earthquake, which was upgraded from a magnitude 7.4 to a magnitude 8.5, with a focal depth of approximately 10 kilometers.