Warnings, advisories and watches were issued in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's coast.

After that disaster, in 1949 the United States established the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), the first of its kind, to provide early warnings to populations around the Pacific. It was a visionary step, recognizing that natural hazards like tsunamis don’t respect borders — and that scientific knowledge could mitigate risk.