A tsunami advisory was canceled Wednesday for coastal areas from San Diego County to San Luis Obispo County following a magnitude- 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, but officials were still warning of strong tsunami-related currents off the Los Angeles County coast.
Officials said currents may be hazardous to swimmers and boats, and people were cautioned to stay out of the water and off the rock jetties.
Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told KNX News’ Jon Baird, there will be wave fluctuations all day.
“Some will be stronger than others, but every 30 minutes or so there'll be kind of a rise and fall of the water levels,” he said.
His advice - if you don’t need to be in the water, don’t go in.
Shannon, a former lifeguard and triathlete who was checking out the waves at Manhattan Beach, told Baird she wouldn’t go into the water herself.
“You know, the tsunami does bring big currents, and you can see that the waves are coming in, and this is normally low tide, and it's a little higher,” she said. “So would I go out? Probably not. Not for swimming, but these guys…surfers are undeterred. Nothing stops the surfer.”
In fact, one surfer told Baird he thought the waves were fine.
“It was super mellow,” he said. “No different than yesterday.”
The National Weather Service advisory was issued at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday following the quake. Possible tsunami activity had been anticipated to begin at 1 a.m. Wednesday at the Los Angeles Harbor, according to the Tsunami Warning Centers.
Overall, the tsunami generated by the Russia quake appeared weaker than originally feared in Los Angeles County, NWS officials said later. A tsunami advisory is issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or very near the water is imminent, expected or occurring, according to the center.
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The city's Emergency Operations Center was activated and staffed by key department personnel as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Port of Los Angeles police were also on heightened alert. The Los Angeles Fire Department's battalions in coastal areas were also monitoring the situation and were prepared to deploy department vessels within the harbor, according to a statement from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' office.
While the need for evacuations always seemed unlikely, according to the National Weather Service, emergency responders and buses were on standby to assist with any evacuation orders.
Bass also encouraged Los Angeles residents to register for emergency alerts at NotifyLA.org.
The quake struck at about 4:25 p.m. Tuesday PDT. Aftershocks measuring magnitudes of 6.9 and 6.3 were recorded over the ensuing hour after the original temblor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
More serious tsunami warnings were issued for Hawaii and the Alaska coast in response to the quake.
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