New Delhi, July 30 -- A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake, tied as the sixth-strongest ever recorded, struck near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, triggering Pacific-wide tsunami alerts.

The quake's epicenter was just 78 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where residents felt violent shaking that Governor Vladimir Solodov called the "strongest in decades".

Within minutes, tsunami waves flooded Severo-Kurilsk port with 19-foot surges, sweeping away storage containers and boats.

Dramatically, surgeons in a Kamchatka cancer center continued operating as ceilings shook, later earning state award nominations . The tremor also triggered eruptions at Klyuchevskoy volcano, sending lava down its slopes.

While the U.S., Japan and Russi...