A tsunami advisory was issued for all of the California coast after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Russia.
According to the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center, the advisory was in effect for the entire West Coast, including Washington and Oregon. The advisory also includes a portion of British Columbia, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and areas of south and southeast Alaska.
A tsunami advisory is the middle level of the warning center’s three-tier alert system: watch, advisory and warning. A tsunami advisory means that strong currents and dangerous waves are expected and that people should stay off of beaches and out of the ocean.
The center had initially issued a lower-tier ‘tsunami watch’ alert for the West Coast of America earlier Tuesday afternoon. The upgraded alert was sent out around 6:30 p.m.
A more severe tsunami warning was in effect for the western section of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, where people were being told to immediately evacuate designated tsunami hazard zones. A warning was also in place for the entire state of Hawaii, where all residents were urged to head away from the coastline.
Japan’s Weather Authority has issued an evacuation order for people living on the Pacific Coast, warning that waves of up to 10 feet could strike the coastline.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 46 miles at 9:25 a.m. Wednesday in local Russian time — which is 4:25 p.m. Tuesday PST.
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.
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.
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