Russia’s magnitude 8.8 earthquake spawned serious tsunami warnings, but waves have been moderate so far. Here’s the geological reason why

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s eastern coast on late Wednesday morning, local time. The quake triggered tsunami waves across the Pacific that hit Russia, Japan, Canada and parts of the US coast.

A powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of Russia has generated tsunami warnings and advisories for a broad section of the Pacific, including Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast