The magnitude 8.8 quake is believed to be the joint sixth-largest on record, though only minor injuries near the epicenter have been reported.

One of the ten largest earthquakes ever recorded just struck Kamchatka, the sparsely populated Russian peninsula facing the Pacific. The magnitude 8.8 quake had its epicenter in the sea just off the Kamchatka coast.

One of this century’s most powerful earthquakes struck off the coast of Russia and generated tsunami warnings and advisories for a broad section of the Pacific as far south as New Zealand.