What you need to know
Approximately 5 million Californians received a brief tsunami warning after a magnitude 7.0 offshore earthquake. Tremors were reported along the coasts of Northern California and Oregon, as well as parts of the Bay Area. A warning for potentially destructive flooding and strong currents expired late Thursday morning. According to the California Geological Survey, the California coast has been hit by more than 150 tsunamis since 1800.
A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern California triggered a brief tsunami warning for about 5 million people on the West Coast Thursday morning.
Tsunami comes from the Japanese words for “minato” and “nami,” and is often, but not always, caused by an undersea earthquake. Sudden displacement of ocean water can cause devastating damage if the waves reach land, making tsunamis one of the most powerful and destructive natural forces on Earth.
Most of the tsunamis observed in California were small, caused only a slight rise in water levels in coastal areas, and caused little damage.
But whether caused by local causes such as earthquakes in the Alaska subduction zone or off the coast, or by earthquakes from distant locations, tsunamis have caused death and destruction in the state’s waterfront areas, some of which They were evacuated on Thursday due to a tsunami warning. The possibility of flooding and strong currents is also a concern.
There were no reports of significant damage or flooding related to Thursday’s undersea earthquake.
According to the California Geological Survey, California’s coast has been hit by more than 150 tsunamis since 1800. Below are some of the more significant tsunamis that have occurred in the state.
January 26, 1700: Northern California Tsunami
There is no written record, but scientists have reconstructed the event using geological evidence, oral history, and Japanese documents that describe waves along the country’s coast later that day. A strong earthquake along the Cascadia Trench, which stretches from Cape Mendocino to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, may have triggered a 50-foot-high tsunami in northern California.
December 21, 1812: Santa Barbara Tsunami
Low-lying areas in Santa Barbara and Ventura were flooded, and strong waves caused damage to nearby vessels. Researchers theorize that a landslide triggered by an earthquake triggered the tsunami.
April 1, 1946: Chubu Coast Tsunami
A magnitude 8.6 earthquake in the Alaskan subduction zone triggered this tsunami, which caused flooding approximately 1,000 feet inland in Half Moon Bay on California’s central coast. Damage was estimated at more than $150,000. One death was reported in California.
Photo of Crescent City Pier during the 1960 tsunami. Credit: USGS
May 22, 1960: : Magnitude 9.5 earthquake and tsunami in Chile
In an amazing example of the power of nature, the strongest ever magnitude 9.5 earthquake off the coast of Chile triggered a tsunami that propagated northwest across the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami killed 61 people in Hawaii and 138 people in Japan. In California, waves damaged coastal ports and flooded the Crescent City waterfront area.
AP
March 28, 1964: Deadly Alaska earthquake causes West Coast tsunami.
The most devastating tsunami on record for the West Coast was caused by a deadly 9.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska. The waves produced powerful waves that battered coastal areas, including the Crescent City area of Northern California, where 11 people were killed. Roughly 20 feet of water flooded about 30 city blocks, according to the Department of Conservation. More than 100 people were killed in the tsunami zone, from Alaska to the Pacific coasts of Canada and the United States.
April 25, 1992: Cape Mendocino Earthquake and Tsunami
The magnitude 7.2 Cape Mendocino earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County caused shaking throughout the region. As with Thursday’s quake, the center was located in one of California’s most geologically complex and seismically active regions. The earthquake caused a small tsunami, which reached the coast about 20 minutes later. Waves were recorded on tide gauges along the coasts of Oregon and California. Small waves were also detected in Hawaii.
November 15, 2006: Kuril Islands Earthquake
After a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck the Kuril Islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, the Crescent City once again bore the brunt of the tsunami damage in California. Damage from the tsunami, which caused strong currents, is estimated at about $20 million.
Damage to Crescent City caused by the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.
March 11, 2011: Japan earthquake causes strong electrical currents in California
Although not as destructive as the 1964 tsunami, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in northeastern Japan triggered strong tsunami currents that damaged ports along the California coast. One death was reported related to the tsunami. The hardest hit areas were Crescent City and Santa Cruz.
Watch live footage of a powerful volcanic eruption near Tonga and the tsunami that hit Newport Beach starting Saturday morning. This video aired on Today in LA on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
January 15, 2022: Tonga volcano collapse and tsunami
The eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano caused the largest explosion ever recorded by modern scientific equipment. The energy released was so strong that it sent a tsunami and strong currents along the California coast, causing an estimated $8 million to $10 million in damage, including in parts of Santa Cruz and Ventura.
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