Sawt Falasteen - Japan lifts tsunami advisory after Russia quake

"There is currently no coastal area for which tsunami warnings or advisories are in force," the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on its website.

Millions of people were put on high alert in countries around the Pacific Ocean after the 8.8-magnitude quake off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula on Wednesday.

The worst damage was seen in Russia, where a tsunami crashed through the port of Severo-Kurilsk and submerged the local fishing plant, officials said.

Russian state television footage showed buildings and debris swept into the sea.

The initial quake caused limited damage and only light injuries.

Fears of a repeat of the December 2004 tsunami that killed 220,000 people in 11 nations -- the legacy of which was to improve early warning systems -- were not realised.

In Japan, where a massive earthquake and tsunami killed 15,000 people in 2011, almost two million people were ordered to higher ground, but the biggest wave was 1.3 metres (4.3 feet).

The only reported fatality was a woman killed when her car fell off a cliff in Japan as she tried to escape on Wednesday, local media reported.

Japan downgraded its tsunami alert to an advisory later on Wednesday, and waves of up to 0.7 metres were still being observed on Thursday.

"The tsunami warning was lifted at 4:30 pm (0630 GMT) after it was determined that the tsunamis would not grow any larger," the JMA said.

The beaching of four sperm whales on a beach in Japan was initially blamed on the earthquake but officials said the animals had washed up a day earlier.

Local surfer Fumiko Udagawa said that it was the first time that such big whales were washed up in the 20 years she has lived in the area.

"As surfers, we are constantly worried now about the sea water being so warm, even towards winter," the 56-year-old told AFP.

"I wonder if this (stranded whales) is also a result of global warming."

Akira Komatsu, a seasonal visitor, wondered if the whales washing up were a precursor of the quake.

"I heard that earthquakes affect the magnetic condition underwater, and whales detect magnetics," the 61-year-old told AFP.

T.Khatib--SF-PST