One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan and Hawaii and across the Pacific.

The threat of a potential tsunami exists for the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, parts of the North Pacific coastline of Russia and for Japan after a 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean on Tuesday evening Eastern time, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System, which is part of the National Weather Service.