For the second time in two months, residents and emergency officials around the Pacific rim of the United States were put on alert about a potential tsunami after a Russian earthquake.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Russia, prompting close monitoring in Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. But no tsunami waves were detected along the remote island chain and the tsunami advisory was canceled.

The National Tsunami Warning Center had issued the advisory, the second highest level tsunami warning, for the Western Aleutian Islands between Amchitka Pass and Attu. Residents and those with interests near the water were advised to "stay out of the water, away from beaches and waterways."

In Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued an alert saying it was "too early" to determine if there is a threat to the state. The center advised that if there was a "tsunami threat to Hawaii, the earliest it would begin would be 2:51 p.m. HST."

Tsunami watch

An all-clear was issued in Hawaii as well. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center determined there was "no threat to Hawaii from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia."

"There is no risk for a destructive tsunami anywhere along the U.S. West or Canadian Coastline," the National Weather Service said.

The tsunami center said "no destructive tsunami" was recorded, and no tsunami observations were available to report from Alaska. However, officials there advised people along the coast not to re-occupy hazards zones until local emergency officials say it is safe to do so.

A forecast from the Japan Meteorological Agency advised its residents that slight sea level changes were possible from the quake along Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. However no tsunami warnings or tsunami advisories were in effect.

Déjà vu tsunami?

The Thursday, Sept. 18 tsunami alert comes less than two months after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake in the same region of Russia, off the Kamchaka Peninsula.

The previous earthquake did trigger a tsunami wave across the Pacific. A video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed the wave propagating across the open ocean.

The powerful historically powerful earthquake is among the ten largest ever recorded on the planet.

Through the evening of July 29 and into the morning of July 2025, tsunami waves reached Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

Authorities first warned for the possibility of major damage. Tsunamis can cause a long series of damaging waves that can flood coastal areas and present other dangers for hours. However, the risk was later downgraded and there were no reports of serious damage.

One of the largest tsunami waves was recorded at Kahului Harbor on the northern coast of Maui. A NOAA tide gauge station first showed the water receding to a level of minus 2.35 feet, then it surged to 6.75, a a rise of more than 9 feet in just 18 minutes. The ocean continued to quickly rise and fall for at least nine hours.

At Port San Luis in central California, the tide level changed more than 2 1/2 feet in just 12 minutes at one point, according to a NOAA tide station.

How does the U.S. monitor for tsunamis?

The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, under the umbrella of the NOAA's research programs, designed and developed the monitoring system used to help detect and alert for tsunamis when they occur.

Operated and maintained by NOAA's National Data Buoy Center, the monitoring stations are deployed at strategic locations throughout the oceans.

The system, by the Center for Tsunami Research, is known as DART, short for Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis. The laboratory’s forecasting technology integrates real-time measurement, automatic detection and computer modeling.

Advocates for NOAA’s research continue to lobby Congress for money to continue operating programs such as the next generation of monitoring buoys to modernize the tsunami warning system.

What is Attu, Alaska known for?

Attu, 1,500 miles from Anchorage and about 460 miles east of the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, is the most remote island in Alaska.

The people of Attu suffered tragedy and death during World War II. The Japanese occupied the island in June 1942. The Indigenous Peoples of Attu were captured by the Japanese and taken to Otaru, Japan, the National Park Service said. On May 12, 1943, the U.S. military launched an effort to retake the island. After a 17-day battle with significant casualties on both sides, the U.S. reclaimed the island.

The people of Attu were held as prisoners for the duration of the war, and many died from malnutrition and starvation. When the prisoners finally returned from Japan, the park service said, they were not allowed to go back to Attu. The U.S. military established a base, but abandoned the island in 2010, when the Coast Guard closed its station.

A birdwatcher's goal

Today Attu is managed as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and the Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument.

Attu has been called "the holy grail" for North American birdwatchers because it presents a rare opportunity to see birds that find their way from Asia to the western Aleutians. The island was famously featured in the 2011 movie "The Big Year," with Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson visiting Attu as their characters competed to see the most birds in North America in a single year.

Once accessible by plane, birdwatchers can now view the island only by boat, via private birdwatching tours.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits Russia; tsunami advisory issued, then canceled

Reporting by James Powel and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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