Tsunami advisory cancelled for B.C. coast after massive Pacific earthquake

CBC

5 days ago

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Residents of much of coastal B.C. were asked earlier to avoid beaches, shorelines late Tuesday
THE LATEST:
The National Tsunami Warning Centre cancelled a tsunami advisory for coastal B.C. early Wednesday.
Residents of much of coastal B.C. were asked to avoid beaches and shorelines after a tsunami advisory was issued late Tuesday.
An advisory is the second step in a three-tiered warning system, and it means strong currents are likely.
Officials say an advisory means significant flooding isn't expected, but strong currents could be dangerous for those near the water.
The advisory covers B.C.'s central and north coasts, Haida Gwaii and the west and northeast coasts of Vancouver Island.
It also spans Juan de Fuca Strait and Greater Victoria, including the Saanich Peninsula.
The District of Tofino on Vancouver Island had expected tsunami activity to reach the community overnight.
A tsunami advisory for multiple parts of the B.C. coast was cancelled early Wednesday following a large earthquake in the Pacific basin near Kamchatka, Russia, on Tuesday afternoon.
The U.S.-based National Tsunami Warning Centre says there was a magnitude 8.8 earthquake, with B.C. officials saying it occurred around 135 kilometres southeast of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk around 4:25 p.m. PT.
A tsunami advisory, upgraded from an earlier watch, was issued for B.C.'s north and central coasts, including Kitimat and Bella Coola, Haida Gwaii and the west and northeast coasts of Vancouver Island.
It also spanned the Juan de Fuca Strait from Jordan River to Greater Victoria, including the Saanich Peninsula.
A tsunami advisory means residents should move away from the ocean and stay alert for more instructions from officials.
"Significant inundation is not expected for areas under an advisory, but coastal zones may be at risk due to strong currents," reads an Emergency Info B.C. advisory.
The advisory adds strong waves and currents could drown or injure people who are in the water, and currents at beaches, harbours, marinas or bays could be especially dangerous.
It had earlier advised boat operators in areas under a tsunami watch to move their boats out to sea to a depth of at least 55 metres if time and conditions permit, and avoid shallow water and inlets if they are already at sea.
A tsunami warning, which is the highest level, means that residents should move away from the water immediately.
Taimi Mulder, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said that even if forecasted tsunami wave heights were small, people should heed the warnings to stay away from the water.
"One still wants to be away from the water, and the water's edge, at that time," she told CBC News late Tuesday night.
"Because unpredictable things could happen, and the currents will be much stronger than normal, and the water will be more confused-looking than normal."
WATCH | Tsunami warnings issued after quake:
Tofino beaches closed
The District of Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island said in an emergency notification around 7 p.m. PT that people shouldn't go to the shore to observe the waves, and later told CBC News in an email that it had closed all beaches until further notice.
Emergency Info B.C. says Langara Island, off the coast of Haida Gwaii, saw tsunami waves around 10:05 p.m. PT, but the wave height was forecast to be less than 30 centimetres.
Early Wednesday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updated its tsunami bulletin to include regional observations, and for B.C., that included an "observed maximum tsunami height" of 27 centimetres at Winter Harbour, and 21 centimetres at Tofino.
John Cassidy, another seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said Tuesday's earthquake was the type of seismic movement that was most likely to generate a tsunami.
"Those waves can travel across the Pacific.... They can travel a long way when they're out in the open ocean," he told Jason D'Souza, host of CBC's All Points West, just before 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
"The tsunami waves travel at about the same speed as a jet," he added.
If the magnitude of 8.8 is confirmed, the earthquake would be among the top 10 strongest earthquakes recorded since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It would be the strongest earthquake since the devastating 2011 earthquake that struck near the Tōhoku region of Japan, which had a magnitude of 9.0 and triggered a tsunami wave more than 40 metres high.
"It's a larger earthquake than we've seen,... in my lifetime anyway, that's that close [and] could potentially affect our B.C. coast," said Elmer Frank, chief councillor of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, whose traditional territories encompass Tofino and Ucluelet on Vancouver Island.
Frank said Tuesday's earthquake and tsunami scare is a reminder for his community to keep up on emergency drills and preparedness.
No major tsunami expected to hit Hawaii
The U.S. Geological Survey, in an updated measurement on Tuesday evening, said the quake hit at a depth of 20.7 kilometres.
In the U.S. state of Hawaii, waves of up to 1.7 metres impacted the islands before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reduced its warning level for the state late Tuesday, saying no major tsunami was expected.
Cars jammed streets and highways in Hawaii's capital of Honolulu, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline.
Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the 8.8 magnitude quake's epicentre flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan.
People went to evacuation centres in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan's nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.
Russian authorities said several people were injured, without giving a figure. In Japan, at least one person was injured.