Tsunami advisory issued for coast following quake in Russia
SAN FRANCISCO – The Bay Area and Central Coast are under a tsunami advisory following a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Russia’s Far East, according to the National Weather Service.
The advisory extends from the Sonoma coastline to the Big Sur coastline and includes San Francisco and San Pablo bays, the weather service said in a bulletin Tuesday.
Estimated arrival times Wednesday include 12:15 a.m. in Monterey and 12:40 a.m. in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Peak wave heights of less than a foot are expected.
The weather service urged people in the advisory area to move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas, noting that “dangerous currents and waves are possible.”
“Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami,” the weather service said.
In the bulletin, the weather service described a tsunami as a series of waves carrying a large mass of water. The first wave might not necessarily be the largest.
While there was no call to evacuate boats and docks at the Berkeley Marina, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is offering rooms to berth holders at a discounted rate of $75, the Berkeley Police Department said in a message late Tuesday. The law enforcement agency also reminded people to ensure their boats are tightly secured.
The earthquake happened around 4:25 p.m. PDT off the coast of Kamchatka. The Russian areas nearest the epicenter reported damage and evacuations, but no serious injuries, according to The Associated Press.
Alaska, Hawaii and other coasts south toward New Zealand all received tsunami warnings.
The first wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, the AP reported. The local governor said residents were safe and staying on higher ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said a tsunami measuring 1.3 feet was detected in Tokachi, on the southern coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost of the country’s main islands, according to the AP.
In Honolulu, warning sirens blared and people moved to higher ground, the AP reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the earthquake had generated a tsunami that could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.
Tsunamis are rare but can be deadly. In 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Alaska triggered waves that killed 17 people on the West Coast, including 11 in Crescent City, near the California-Oregon border. Waves caused by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 killed 230,000 people. And in 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan generated waves that killed nearly 16,000 people.
The 2011 quake also caused a tidal surge along the Northern California coast that killed a man in Crescent City and caused $25 million in damage at the Santa Cruz Harbor.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
