One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded has sent a tsunami crashing into a Russian port and smaller waves barreling across the Pacific to the Americas and south to New Zealand.

A tsunami has hit coastal areas of Russia’s Kuril Islands and Japan’s large northern island of Hokkaido after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake early on Wednesday. Tsunami warning sirens sounded in Honolulu, Hawaii, where people were told to move to higher ground.

Past strong earthquakes have caused massive and damaging waves far away, but scientists say these tsunami waves were tame by comparison across the Pacific basin.