Japan lifts tsunami warnings as some Pacific islands begin evacuations after massive earthquake

We are closing our live coverage down now as Wednesday draws to a close, a day that started with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, one of the most powerful quakes ever recorded.

That sparked fears of a tsunami across much of the Pacific and while some countries have since lifted their warnings, others remain on high alert.

Here's a roundup of some of the main events from Wednesday.

- The Klyuchevskoy volcano, one of several on Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, started erupting on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the earthquake struck.

- Authorities in Ecuador and Chile’s Pacific islands ordered evacuations of coastal regions amid warnings of an incoming tsunami.

- Local authorities in French Polynesia lifted the tsunami alert for the Marquesas Islands and said people could return to their homes, but advised residents to remain cautious.

- Japan's Meteorological Agency removed all tsunami warnings that were in place across the country, downgrading them to advisories.

- Initial reports indicated there was "no safety impact for nuclear power plants along the Pacific coast," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.

- Flights restarted at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii and commercial harbours were also set to reopen.

- US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the threat of a major tsunami hitting the United States "has passed completely."