Update 10:38 p.m.: The Pacific Warning Tsunami Center has downgraded the tsunami warning for Hawaii to a tsunami advisory. Flooding has been limited to low-lying coastal areas. There are no reports of major damage or injuries on Maui, though Maui Fire Department did perform a handful of rescues. The Kahului Airport was closed due to the tsunami warning, leaving many passengers stranded, and thousands of people reportedly sought refuge at the shelters opened by the county.

UPDATE 9:30 p.m.: Initial wave impacts from the leading edge of the tsunami measured several feet at some monitoring stations, but follow-up waves over the next several hours are often larger. A major drop in the water level was reported at the Kahului Harbor. The public is advised to not return to evacuated areas until the Tsunami Warning is lifted and an all-clear is given, according to National Weather Service.

UPDATE 8:20 p.m.: There had been no reports of damage on Maui as of 8:20 p.m. Tuesday. The areas between Hana Highway at Haneo’o Road, to Piilani Highway in the area of Ulupalakua, are open to local traffic only.

UPDATE 7 p.m. Tuesday: Maui Veterans Highway is congested; people should use Cane Haul Road toward Hansen and Pulehu roads to get to Kula, according to Maui Police Department. Officers are also closing all access points to Kahului Beach Road. This includes closures at Wahine Pio, Kaahumanu Avenue and Kanaloa Avenue. Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard has issued an order for evacuation of commercial vessels from all commercial harbors in the Hawaiian Islands.

The Social Hall at Lahaina Civic Center and the parking lot at Lahaina Intermediate School recently opened. Motorists are asked to avoid coastal roads when accessing shelters. Molokai High School, Kihei Community Center, Velma McWayne Santos Center, Lahainaluna High School, Hana High School, Hannibal Tavares Pukalani Community Center opened by 5:30 p.m. Animals on a leash or on crates will be accepted at all shelters. All County parks not in the tsunami zone are open to shelter. Ulupalakua Ranch road off Moana Drive in Maui Meadows is open to park. Visitors should follow their hotel or lodging directives for tsunami evacuation plans.

The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning for Hawaii at 2:43 p.m. Tuesday, and emergency officials are warning people to evacuate coastal areas on Maui.

The warning follows an 8.8 magnitude earthquake reported off the eastern coast of Russia at 1:25 p.m. Tuesday. The estimated time of arrival of the first tsunami wave in Hawaii is about 7:10 p.m. Tuesday.

The Maui Emergency Management Agency was at full activation as of 2:30 p.m. and evacuation orders were issued at 3:22 p.m. for people in tsunami evacuation zones. For more about tsunami evacuation zones, go to https://tsunami.coast.noaa.gov.

Shelters have been identified. Molokai High School, Kihei Community Center, Velma McWayne Santos Center, Lahainaluna High School, Hana High School, Hannibal Tavares Pukalani Community Center are scheduled to be opened by 5:15 or 5:30 p.m. Visitors should follow their hotel or lodging plans for tsunami evacuation protocol.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Maui County Department of Water Supply will be closing off valves along coastal areas at 5 p.m. The areas include Waihee, Waiehu, Wailuku, Kahului, Maalaea, Kihei, Wailea, Makena, Lahaina, Napili, Hana and Molokai. Residents and visitors in those areas will experience low/no pressure until all-clear is signaled and valves are reopened. Customers are encouraged to store water. For more information, contact DWS at water.supply@mauicounty.gov or (808) 270-7633.

The county also will be shutting down several wastewater pump stations and facilities in Lahaina, Kihei and Central Maui to prevent damage amid the tsunami warning. All residents connected to the county’s wastewater system in these areas are requested to limit toilet flushing and bathing until further notice. Cooperation will prevent or greatly reduce the amount of raw wastewater discharged to the county wastewater collection system during this emergency.

Department of Parks and Recreation parks and facilities in tsunami evacuation zones around the county have been closed, including Kepaniwai Park.

All Maui Bus services will cease operations by 6:30 p.m. or earlier based on the route, according to the county Department of Transportation. Check mauibus.org or call Roberts Hawaii dispatch for information at (808) 871-4838.

A MEMA call center has been opened; residents may dial (808) 270-7285.

The public is encouraged to stay informed about evacuations through the Genasys Protect App and MEMA Alerts, which can be downloaded at www.mauicounty.gov/MEMA.

A tsunami is a series of waves and each wave crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more with extensive flooding in coastal areas.

The danger can continue for hours after the initial wave as more waves arrive, and the first wave may not be the largest. The NWS says tsunamis can efficiently wrap around islands and all shores are at risk no matter which direction they face.

A tsunami can also temporarily expose the sea floor. However, the area will quickly flood again. Extremely strong and unusual nearshore currents can also accompany a tsunami.

Debris picked up by a tsunami can amplify its destructive power.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami measuring 1.3 feet was detected in Tokachi, on the southern coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost of the country’s main islands.

The Russian areas nearest the quake’s epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula reported damage and evacuations, but no serious injuries.

The first tsunami wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko. He said residents were safe and staying on high ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.

The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its measurement to 8.8 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 13 miles.

The quake was centered about 74 miles east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude were recorded.

The quake caused damage to buildings and cars swayed in the streets in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which also had power outages and mobile phone service failures. Russian news agencies quoting the regional Health Ministry saying several people sought medical help in Kamchatka after the earthquake, but no serious injuries were reported.

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the March 2011 earthquake off northeast Japan that was 9.0 magnitude and caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.

On Nov. 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 30-foot waves in Hawaii.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.