On Jul. 30, an earthquake of 8.8 magnitude struck Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, causing a tsunami with a height of up to 4m in the remote area.

It also triggered tsunami alerts in Japan, the U.S., and several Pacific islands.

The quake was previously recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey to be a magnitude of 8.7, BBC reported.

The governor of Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, called the quake"the strongest in decades of tremors", as quoted by BBC.

Tsunami alerts have been issued in Japan, the U.S.'s west coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and other islands of Micronesia.

According to Japanese media, four whales washed ashore on Chiba, Japan on the same day.

According to NHK, the man who spotted the four whales had gone to check the wave height before going surfing.

Japanese police have stated that the whales have been washing up since the day before, on Jul. 29, and that the incident is unrelated to the recent quake and tsunami alert, reported Asahi Shimbun.

Officials have said they are ascertaining the status of the whales, and will take appropriate action.

Alert

At 10:29am local time, Japan ordered immediate evacuations for people in affected areas along the eastern Pacific coastline, from Hokkaido down to Wakayama prefecture, NHK reported.

The tsunami in these areas is estimated to be 3m high."Escape to a higher, safe location right away," the alert said.

Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — the site of a major nuclear disaster following a tsunami in 2011 — have also been evacuated, BBC reported.

The first waves have hit the northern part of Hokkaido, measured to be around 30cm high.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that no casualties or damage have been reported so far.

Nonetheless, he cautioned people that"after the initial wave, second and third waves of tsunamis can be even higher", The Guardian quoted.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that their authorities are"working to assess the situation", and any relief efforts will"put human lives first", BBC reported.

The man who spotted the whales said he had seen beached whales before, but never four at once.