Wednesday evening in Waikiki ended in classic Hawaiian style, with a stunning red, orange and gold sunset, children laughing and splashing in waves lapping the shore – and parents sipping cocktails from plastic cups.

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggered tsunami waves of up to 16 feet nearby, and sparked evacuation orders in Japan, Hawaii and across the Pacific on Wednesday (July 30).

Oprah Winfrey has come under fire again, despite refuting a viral social-media rumor that she kept a private road closed during tsunami evacuation efforts in Hawaii. What began as a logistic concern has since evolved into a broader discussion about non-Indigenous billionaire land ownership on the islands.