As tsunami threat subsides, LA, OC urged to avoid coastal waters as dangerous currents and rogue waves still possible

• You can find the latest updates at Tsunami.gov.
• You can also check the local National Weather Service on X and the on the web.

A tsunami advisory was lifted for Southern California Wednesday — but residents in Los Angeles and Orange counties were still urged to stay away from coastal waters.

Even as L.A. County announced it was reopening beaches and facilities "hours earlier than anticipated," the National Weather Service warned people to avoid going into the water.

"Main thing to stress is that currents will be very strong across all the coastal waters today. So, people should stay out of the water and avoid harbors all along the #SoCal coast," the NWS said on X.

The L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors urged visitors to check with the nearest lifeguard for information on conditions and "practice good judgment before entering the water."

How we got here

Alerts went into effect for a wide region of the Pacific Tuesday evening after a massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck eastern Russia, one of the largest recorded quakes in the last century.

The tsunami alert for Southern California had been upped to an advisory — the second-highest level of alert — around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (it was previously a tsunami watch, the lowest level). Forecasts had said Southern California could experience a tsunami starting around 1 a.m., when the coast here was approaching high tide.

Overall, though, the tsunami generated by the Russia quake appeared weaker than originally feared. In Hawaii, surges reached more than 5 feet but caused no major damage. Closer to home, the National Weather Service reported that waves hitting Santa Monica were only about a half foot high.

The National Weather Service lifted the advisory for L.A., Orange and other locations south of Santa Barbara at 5:19 a.m.

Officials cautioned that a lot of fluctuation is still taking place. Officials across L.A. and Orange counties want people to stay away from the beaches, piers and harbors until at least noon — or further notice.

More on tsunamis:

• 4 things Californians should know about tsunamis
• What would really happen if a tsunami hit the Bay Area?

What we were looking out for

Much of the U.S. West Coast remains under a tsunami advisory after a large earthquake near eastern Russia.

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tsunami.gov

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An official bulletin estimated that the height of the tsunami could be between 2.6 and 4.8 feet in Crescent City in Northern California. The area around Avila Beach on the Central Coast was also under a warning.

Officials published a list of times forecasting tsunami activity in California:

• Around midnight in Fort Bragg and Crescent City.
• 12:40 a.m. Wednesday in San Francisco.
• 1 a.m. in the L.A. harbor area, including the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
• 1:10 a.m. in Newport Beach and La Jolla.

An alert from the city of Los Angeles on Tuesday night said people should leave beaches, marinas and harbors and that no evacuations were needed for any areas on land other than beaches.

Orange County officials said all beaches there were closed, in compliance with tsunami protocols.

What happened in Hawaii

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said his state was braced for waves to hit Kauai shortly after 10 p.m. Pacific time. He urged calm, but cautioned they were under a tsunami warning, meaning a wave was imminent. He said people from coastal areas needed to evacuate immediately.

After that initial arrival time came and went without any big waves, officials cautioned that multiple cycles of waves were expected.

Shortly before 11 p.m., live shots of some Hawaiian beaches at twilight showed signs of receding water, an indication of an incoming surge. The warning was lifted about 4.5 hours later (3:30 a.m. local time) and residents were allowed to return to evacuated areas, according to Hawaii Public Radio. By then, officials said all available data no longer pointed to a major tsunami event for the island chain.

Why concern was so high

John Dumas, a National Weather Service meteorologist, cautioned that a quake of this magnitude could create "very strong currents that can move things around and cause damage."

"On its way across the Pacific, it will pass buoys with sensors that will measure tsunami waves," he said, "and we can expect updates as soon as the tsunami starts moving."

Phillip Sanfield, a spokesperson for the Port of L.A., said officials there are "monitoring closely and in touch" with terminals and the boating community.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass urged Angelenos to sign up for emergency alerts at Emergency.LACity.gov/NotifyLA.

About the quake that started it all

The 8.8 quake struck Tuesday about 4:25 p.m. Pacific time off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, which juts into the Bering Sea in the country's far east. Several other quakes — with magnitudes up to 6.9 — struck in quick succession in the area.

The U.S. government issues a tsunami advisory for Southern California to alert people about strong currents and waves that are dangerous to people in or near the water.

Tsunami evacuation routes in Seal Beach.

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Megan Garvey

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LAist

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The last time California saw a tsunami was in 2011 — when a 9.0 earthquake struck the Tohoku region of Japan and damaged some harbors in Crescent City and Santa Cruz. The most devastating tsunami to hit the West Coast was in 1964 after a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska caused powerful waves that slammed into Crescent City — killing 11 people.

A tsunami is a wave caused by an earthquake near or under the ocean — or by a volcano, submarine landslide or landslide from land. Tsunamis move toward land like a fast-rising tide with powerful currents, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. When tsunamis approach shore, water reaches much farther inland than normal waves do.

We have earthquake resources

We don't want to scare you, but a Big One is coming to Southern California. We don't know when, but we know it'll be at least 44 times stronger than Northridge and 11 times stronger than the Ridgecrest quakes in 2019. To help you get prepared, we've compiled a handy reading list:

• Your guide to surviving the Big One
• For earthquakes, forget the 'go-bag.' Here's how to prepare
• How to not get life-threatening diarrhea after a major earthquake
• 10 earthquake-related questions to ask your landlord immediately
• How to prepare for an earthquake if you have a disability

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