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

Eyewitness video captured tsunami waves flooding the small Russian town of Severo-Kurilsk on Wednesday morning.

A powerful earthquake struck Wednesday off Russia’s Far East coast, flooding a fishing port with waves from a tsunami, cutting power to a few areas and sending some panicked residents fleeing buildings but causing only a few injuries.