Hawaii officials say the timing of the tsunami warning and evacuation orders following this week's massive earthquake off Russia helped make for severe traffic congestion in some areas.

While Monday's tsunami response was ultimately more of a drill than a true emergency, the traffic it triggered offered a real-time test of Oahu’s evacuation capacity — one that state officials admit was deeply strained.

Tuesday night, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake centered off the east coast of Russia prompted warnings of a tsunami for parts of Alaska and Hawaii, and while it looks like the worst threat has passed, concern is still there 24 hours later.