A tsunami stemming from the eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga hit the west coast of the United States and Canada on Saturday.
A tsunami stemming from the eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga hit the west coast of the United States and Canada this Saturday, with waves that in at least one case exceeded a meter in height and caused minor flooding in part of California.
“A tsunami is occurring along the coast of Alaska, British Columbia (Canadian) and the west coast of the United States”, indicated shortly before 11:00 in the morning in that area (19:00 GMT) the US Tsunami Warning Service. on its official Twitter account.
The waves recorded so far range from 7 centimeters (0.2 feet) in Alameda (California) to 24 centimeters (4 feet) in Port San Luis, about 300 kilometers north of Los Angeles, in the same state. , according to that service belonging to the National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The impact took place despite the fact that the Californian coast is located almost 8,700 kilometers (5,400 miles) from the South Pacific island nation of Tonga, where the volcanic eruption took place.
The tsunami caused “a slight flood” in the port of Santa Cruz (California), where the beaches were closed and people were evacuated from the commercial areas near the coast, although no one was forced to leave their home, he told the network CNN City Manager Elizabeth Smith.
There was also “flooding to the parking area” near the beach in Port San Luis, where the highest waves were recorded, the Los Angeles division of the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet.
In Berkeley (California) some 110 people were evacuated from ships and docks in the coastal area, according to local media Berkeleyside; and most of the beaches in the south of the state were closed due to the alert.
“Do not approach the coast to observe the tsunami,” the Tsunami Warning Service stressed on its website.
This service removed the tsunami warning for Hawaii hours after issuing it, after verifying that there had been no waves of that magnitude in those US Pacific islands.
Instead, NOAA kept the tsunami advisory in effect for the states of California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as Canada’s British Columbia. (I)
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