Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, along with the entire West Coast were under a tsunami alert issued after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday afternoon in Eastern Russia.
The quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, hit at 4:25 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time at a depth of around 11 miles, some 80 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk Kamchatka, Russia, and was one of the strongest tremblers ever recorded.
Several large aftershocks were recorded after the initial quake, though despite tsunami waves that hit Japan and moved across the Pacific, prompting evacuations in Hawaii and heightened warnings in Northern California, there were no reports of substantial damage.
Just before 1 a.m., officials with the National Weather Service reported that the tsunami had reached the Northern California coastline and was showing up in the Arena Cove tide gauge as it continued its path southward.
Along the Southern California coastline, where an initial “Tsunami Watch” was upgraded to a “Tsunami Advisory” just after 7 p.m., NWS appeared most concerned about areas north of Point Conception.
“We are carefully monitoring the situation for ports and harbors north of Point Conception as tsunami waves will likely be larger in that area,” NWS said in a post to X. “Go away from the coast, or if in a boat, go out to deep water!”
Residents in coastal areas were urged to stay abreast of additional updates and be aware of estimated tsunami start times, some of which included the following:
- L.A. Harbor, July 30 at 1:05 a.m.
- Santa Barbara, July 30 at 12:50 a.m.
- Newport Beach, July 30 at 1:10 a.m.
- La Jolla, July 30 at 1:15 a.m.
- San Francisco, July 30 at 12:50 a.m.
Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Laguna Beach closed their beaches and piers in response to the advisory. While L.A. County beaches remained open a little later, officials with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department were seen in aerial footage captured by Sky5 clearing local beaches and piers, including in Santa Monica.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that port police and the city’s emergency officials were “actively responding to tonight’s Tsunami Advisory,” before urging workers and residents in the area to avoid the waterline and follow any instructions issued by officials.
No evacuation orders were issued for any Southern California coastal communities, though the tsunami advisory remained in effect until further notice.
Historically, Angelenos are unlikely to experience serious damage from tsunamis. A similarly strong quake off the coast of Chile in 1960 created the “most significant remote tsunami” to hit Southern California.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
