Hawaii officials say the timing of the tsunami warning and evacuation orders following this week's massive earthquake off Russia helped make for severe traffic congestion in some areas

A massive 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia’s eastern coast early Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific and along the U.S. West Coast.

Tsunami alerts have been issued for Hawaii, the U.S West Coast and Alaska as well as Japan the Philippines, Indonesia, Guam, Peru and the Galapagos Islands, and parts of China following a massive earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Russia.