A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit off Russia’s coast and Japan’s large northern island of Hokkaido on Wednesday, tying for the sixth-largest quake ever. It’s the strongest since 2011’s magnitude 9.1 quake off Japan, which triggered a tsunami and Fukushima disaster.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami as high as 60 centimeters (2 feet) had been detected as the waves moved south along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido to Tokyo Bay. Officials urged caution, saying that bigger waves could come later.

Damage and evacuations were reported in the Russian regions nearest the quake’s epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Russian authorities declared a state of emergency on the Kuril islands after the tsunami.

They earlier reported that several tsunami waves flooded the fishing port of Severokurilsk, the main city on the islands, and cut power supplies to the area. The Russian authorities said that tsunami waves topping 3 meters (9.8 feet) hit Severokurilsk.

Japan asserts territorial rights to the four Pacific islands it calls the Northern Territories. They were taken by the Soviet Union in the final days of World War II, and the dispute has kept the countries from signing a peace treaty.

Damage and minor injuries reported in Russian Far East

Local authorities on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula said several people were injured during the massive quake, but didn’t give an exact number.

Oleg Melnikov, head of the regional health department, said a few people hurt themselves while rushing to leave buildings and a hospital patient received an injury while jumping out of a window. Melnikov said that all injured people were in satisfactory condition.

A video released by Russian media outlet showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room, before continuing with surgery after the shaking stopped. Officials said the doctors will receive decorations.

In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka’s regional capital, the quake damaged a local kindergarten, which was not in operation due to ongoing repair work.

The Russian authorities said that tsunami waves topping 3 meters (10 feet) hit Severokurilsk, the main city on the Pacific archipelago that Russia calls the Kuril Islands.

Severokurilsk Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said the city’s was flooded by four tsunami waves, which washed fishing boats into the sea, but no major damage was recorded in the city. Power supplies were shut off and the authorities were checking the power network after the flooding.

Japan also asserts territorial rights to the islands it calls the Northern Territories, which were taken by the Soviet Union in the final days of World War II. The dispute has kept the countries from signing a peace treaty.

—ASSOCIATED PRESS