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Officials upgraded tsunami warnings on California’s north coast, issued more severe “warnings” in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, predicting the worst possible damages in historic tsunami hotspot Crescent City.
Tsunami warnings are the top level of the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center’s three-tier alert system (monitoring, advisory, warning), meaning residents will be prompted to leave the coast soon. Also, warnings have been raised across Hawaii. There, residents evacuated inland and evacuated along Guam and the western Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
The rest of the California coast is under the tsunami recommendation. This means that strong currents and dangerous waves are expected, and people should be away from the beach.
If the tsunami occurs in California, it will crash into the North Coast at 11:50pm and arrive in the Los Angeles area by 1am. The impact of LA is expected to be much smaller, with waves below a foot, according to the warning center.
The tsunami could last as long as 30 hours in Crescent City, where waves of up to 4.8 feet are predicted. The port in Crescent City was destroyed, and a man was killed in the 2011 tsunami. This was generated from a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Japan.
Another area where you can see the important tsunami is Port San Luis, San Luis Obispo County, where a 2-3.7-foot tsunami could collide. Waves below 1.3 feet were predicted for the rest of the California coastline.
Where is the tsunami hazard zone in California?
Tsunami hazard zones can spread to Bayside and riverside areas relatively far from the Pacific coast.
Zoom in and navigate the map to see the state’s tsunami hazardous areas
The tsunami alert came on Tuesday afternoon after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s east coast, slamming strong waves on buildings in Siberia and northeastern Japan.
According to the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center, alerts include the entire West Coast, including Washington and Oregon, as well as parts of British Columbia and Alaska, which are in effect.
The earthquake attacked from the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Siberia at 9:25am (4:25pm on Tuesday) at 9:25am (4:25pm on Tuesday).
Within hours of the earthquake, a 10-13-foot tsunami struck Siberia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, causing damage to the buildings, including the kindergarten, according to Reuters. Japanese officials advised people to evacuate tsunami-generated areas along the country’s eastern coast, warning that waves of up to 10 feet can strike the coastline.
Hawaii news now reports busy roads as people listened to evacuation plans and saw Costco stock up ahead of the expected arrival of a tsunami. Southwest rerouted the flight from LAX to Honolulu and returned to LAX for a tsunami warning.
“We’re traumatized right now,” Dominga Advincula, a longtime resident of the Foothill area, where Lahaina’s flames began, told The Times. “Every hour, they make the sound of sirens for everyone to leave the ocean, and it gets hurt once again by what happened in 2023.”
She was sent home from work at a hotel in Kanapalai after the warning sounded. The nearby roads were crowded with people trying to reach higher ground, she said.
According to NHK, a Japanese broadcasting station, one of the first tsunami reports was in Hokkaido, Japan. NHK footage showed buildings that appeared to have their warehouses wiped out by strong tsunami currents in northeastern Japan.
The Tsunami Warning Center was the first to issue low-rise tsunami surveillance on the US west coast Tuesday afternoon. The upgraded Tsunami Advisory Alert was sent around 6:30pm, followed by a more severe North Coast warning issued around 9pm
Potential waves will hit Fort Bragg in Mendocino County at 11:50pm and Crescent City in Del Norte County at 11:55pm on Tuesday
Then, early Wednesday mornings, potential waves arrive at 12:15am, San Francisco at 12:40am, Los Angeles Port at 1:05am, Newport Beach at 1:10am, Oceanside and La Jolla at 1:15am.
Authorities warned that the initial tsunami wave may not be the biggest. In fact, the first tsunami is not usually the best, and the tsunami can last for hours.
In the devastating 1964 tsunami that struck Crescent City, people settled into false sense of security after a series of small waves and returned to begin cleaning when the fourth wave hit. Higher sounds 21 feet above the average low tide destroyed the city, washing away 29 city blocks and killing at least 11 people.
Authorities warn that tsunami waves, which are thought to be relatively small, such as six inches tall, are destructive.
It only takes 6 inches of fast water, but you only need to beat the water in two feet of motion with an adult to carry most vehicles.
“Strong currents can hurt people in or near the water and kill them, damaging and destroying boats and infrastructure in the port,” the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program states.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said she had been in contact with coastal leaders and LA Port for almost overnight preparations and urged residents to sign up for an emergency warning on Notifyla.org.
“We are working together to assess whether coastline evacuation is necessary and will send additional alerts as soon as possible,” a San Francisco official said.
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