Tsunami waves have reached California and Hawaii in the US after a huge earthquake off Russia's far east coast, Al Jazeera reported.

According to the National Weather Service for the San Francisco Bay Area, at 1:12 a.m. (local time) on July 30, tsunami waves reached the west coast of the continental United States at San Francisco. The tsunami has also affected the coastal area of the Arena Cove state and is making its way further down the coast, the National Weather Service reported.

Farther southwest in the Pacific, waves of 1-1.2 m in height began to affect the US island of Hawaii shortly after 20:00 local time on 29 July, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). However, in an update, the center said it does not expect a major tsunami to affect the state.

Earlier, US tsunami warning centres said waves of 1 to 3 metres were possible in Hawaii. The Department of Emergency Management in Honolulu advised residents of some coastal areas to evacuate.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reported that all commercial ports were closed. Flights to and from the second-largest island of Maui were also canceled Tuesday night (July 29), Green said.

The tsunami threat comes as the aftermath of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Russia's far eastern region of Kamchatka - one of the largest on record - puts residents of coastal areas in parts of Russia, Latin America and multiple island nations in Asia and the Pacific on high alert.

Waves up to 4 metres high have already hit Kamchatka, submerging some buildings. Thousands of citizens on the affected islands have been evacuated.

Japan is also bracing for damage, with evacuation orders issued for people living along coastal areas or rivers.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) in Anchorage, tsunami waves have also been detected by coastal gauges along the eastern Aleutian Islands and the Pacific portion of the Alaska Peninsula.

The tsunami's impact could last for hours, perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snyder, tsunami warning coordinator at the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska. | BGNES