A tsunami advisory was issued for all of the California coast after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Russia, sending powerful waves slamming into buildings in Siberia and northeastern Japan.
According to the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center, the advisory was in effect for the entire West Coast, including Washington and Oregon, as well as portions of British Columbia and Alaska.
A tsunami advisory is the middle level of the warning center’s three-tier alert system — watch, advisory and warning — and means that strong currents and dangerous waves are expected and that people should stay off of beaches. A more severe tsunami warning is in effect in Hawaii, Guam, and the western section of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, where residents have been urged to evacuate coastal areas.
Should a tsunami materialize in California, it would hit the Mendocino County coast at 11:50 p.m. and reach the Los Angeles area by 1 a.m., according to the warning center.
Where are California’s tsunami hazard zones?
Areas of notable concern in Los Angeles County include Marina del Rey, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and around Alamitos Bay because there are few roads for evacuation, according to the California Geological Survey.
Zoom in and move the map to see the state’s tsunami hazard areas
The earthquake struck off of the eastern coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Siberia at 9:25 a.m. Wednesday local Russian time — which is 4:25 p.m. Tuesday PDT — generating strong tremors that injured several people, according to reporting by Reuters.
Then, a tsunami of 10 to 13 feet hit the Kamchatka Peninsula, damaging buildings, including a kindergarten. “Today’s earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,” said Vladimir Solodov, Kamchatka governor, in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app, Reuters reported.
Japanese officials said people should evacuate tsunami-prone areas along the country’s east coast, warning that waves of up to 10 feet could strike the coastline.
One of the first reports of tsunami came in Hokkaido, Japan, where the Nemuro Hanasaki port experienced a 1-foot tsunami, according to NHK, the Japanese broadcaster. NHK footage showed buildings that appeared to be warehouses being swept away by strong tsunami currents in northeastern Japan.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center had initially issued a lower-tier tsunami watch alert for the West Coast of the U.S. earlier Tuesday afternoon. The upgraded tsunami advisory alert was sent out around 6:30 p.m.
The size of any waves that may strike California is currently unknown. Should a tsunami materialize, it would hit Fort Bragg in Mendocino County at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday, Crescent City in Del Norte County at 11:55 p.m.
Then, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, potential waves would reach Monterey at 12:15 a.m., San Francisco at 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, the Los Angeles harbor at 1:05 a.m., Newport Beach at 1:10 a.m., and Oceanside and La Jolla at 1:15 a.m.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said she was in touch with coastal leaders and the the Port of L.A. about overnight preparations and urged residents to sign up for emergency alerts at NotifyLA.org.
San Francisco officials said they were “working together to evaluate whether the evacuation of shoreline areas is necessary, and will send out additional alerts as soon as possible.”
Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula is a hot spot for earthquakes. Earlier this month, the region was rattled by five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4.
