Tsunami waves that radiated out from a November 15 earthquake off Russia’s remote east coast struck as far away as New Zealand — 14 hours after the temblor, a scientist said Thursday.

Waves up to 58 centimeters (23 inches) high were recorded by at least seven sea level gauges on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island and the Chatham Islands, said Rob Bell, principal scientist at the nation’s National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research.

Bell said the tsunami affected New Zealand — some 9,600 kilometers (6,000 miles) away from the epicenter — for 3-4 days as waves bounced off undersea ridges and moved to and fro along indented sections of coastline.

“This explains why the highest waves … occurred just over 40 hours after the first wave arrived in New Zealand waters,” he said in a statement.

The magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck the Kuril Islands north of Japan on November 15, sending waves across the Pacific Ocean that struck the California coast. No major damage was caused, though the tsunami was a useful test of a multination warning system, officials said.

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