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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — A Tuesday afternoon earthquake off the Russian coast triggered a tsunami advisory for much of the West Coast, and a warning for the Hawaii Islands and a portion of the North Coast of California.
The United States Geological Survey said the 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurred just before 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time off the Kamchatka Peninsula on the eastern coast of Russia.
That initial quake was followed by dozens of quakes in the same area, some as large at 6.5 magnitude.
The quake’s 8.8-magnitude earned it a tie for the sixth-largest recorded earthquake, according to seismic historical records.
The National Tsunami Warning Center began issuing updates on the potential for a tsunami shortly after it occurred.
At around 10 p.m. Tuesday night, “a tsunami is occurring in the Pacific Ocean tonight,” the center posted on its Facebook page.
“This is the most significant event we've seen in some time. It is _not_ the same thing as recent alerts near California in December, or Alaska a few weeks ago,” the center said in its post.
At that time, a tsunami warning was in effect for the Western Aleutians and Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, which later was downgraded to an advisory.
A warning was in effect for the Hawaiian Islands, and a stretch of the Northern California coast that included northern Humboldt County and southern Del Norte County. A tsunami advisory was in place for the rest of the West Coast.
Late Tuesday, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said the Sonoma coast was under a tsunami warning until 3:30 a.m.
The public was urged to stay out of coastal waters, off the beach, harbor docks and piers as strong currents and dangerous waves were expected.
Tsunami start times for the North Coast were:
• Fort Bragg: 11:50 p.m. July 29.
• Crescent City: 11:50 p.m. July 29.
• Monterey: 12:15 a.m. July 30.
• San Francisco: 12:40 a.m. July 30.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s office said tsunamis often arrive as a series of waves or surges which could be dangerous for many hours after the first wave arrives. The first tsunami wave or surge may not be the highest in the series.
The forecast peak tsunami wave heights along much of the North Coast were expected to be less than one foot high.
The Del Norte Office of Emergency Services said late Tuesday that tsunami waves from 2.7 to 5 feet would begin to arrive shortly before midnight and may last for approximately 30 hours.
In a late Tuesday night video, Eric Wier, Crescent City’s city manager, said the tsunami would not be like that of 1964.
He said some city residents in an inundation area had been asked to evacuate. A temporary evacuation point was set up at the Veteran's Memorial Building in Crescent City.
Ryan Aylward of the National Weather Service said that when high tide arrives around 3 a.m., there could be waves that are higher than the normal high tide, with the surge into the 5 foot range. There is the possibility of some minor flooding close to the bay.
State Sen. Mike McGuire, who was on the video with Del Norte officials, noted that the worst case scenario could have been much worse.
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