West Coast Tsunami Warning Canceled

After initially suggesting there could be a tsunami threat, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center now says there is no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami from today's major earthquake in Mexico. — After initially suggesting there could be a tsunami threat, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center now says there is no threat of a tsunami from today’s major earthquake in California.

Moments ago, the National Weather Service Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska cancelled the Tsunami Warning that had been in effect for portions of the California and Oregon coastline. However, they warn,”Do not re-occupy hazard zones until local emergency officials indicate it is safe to do so.”

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck from a depth of 8 miles near the coast of northern California earlier today, triggering a Tsunami Warning for a large portion of the U.S. West Coast including the entire San Francisco Bay area.

Each dot indicates the epicenter of an earthquake to strike the region within the last 24 hours, with the size indicating relative intensity and red indicating the most recent quakes. Image: USGS

“Based on all available data, the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii added.

Earthquake activity does continue in northern California today, with more than 100 earthquakes striking within the last 24 hours. It’s possible a stronger earthquake could strike renewing the tsunami threat. The Tsunami Warning Centers will continue to monitor conditions and will issue new alerts if new threats arrive.