TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND HAWAII AFTER 7.7 QUAKE STRIKES BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Update: A revised warning now includes the Pacific Northwest and Canada, as well as Hawaii. The tsunami is not expected to reach San Diego.

October 27, 2012 (San Diego)—A powerful earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck 25 miles south of Sandspit in British Columbia at 8:04 p.m. (The quake has been upgraded from an original estimate of 7.1)

Our earlier warning was based on the map at left from the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

Below are additional details.

A TSUNAMI WARNING MEANS... ALL COASTAL RESIDENTS IN THE WARNING

AREA WHO ARE NEAR THE BEACH OR IN LOW-LYING REGIONS SHOULD MOVE

IMMEDIATELY INLAND TO HIGHER GROUND AND AWAY FROM ALL HARBORS AND

INLETS INCLUDING THOSE SHELTERED DIRECTLY FROM THE SEA. THOSE

FEELING THE EARTH SHAKE... SEEING UNUSUAL WAVE ACTION... OR THE

WATER LEVEL RISING OR RECEDING MAY HAVE ONLY A FEW MINUTES BEFORE

THE TSUNAMI ARRIVAL AND SHOULD MOVE IMMEDIATELY. HOMES AND

SMALL BUILDINGS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND TSUNAMI IMPACTS.

DO NOT STAY IN THESE STRUCTURES.

ALL RESIDENTS WITHIN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR

INSTRUCTIONS BROADCAST FROM THEIR LOCAL CIVIL AUTHORITIES.

EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE ARE KNOWN TO GENERATE TSUNAMIS.

ESTIMATED TSUNAMI ARRIVAL TIMES AND MAPS ALONG WITH SAFETY RULES

AND OTHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB SITE

WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.

TSUNAMIS CAN BE DANGEROUS WAVES THAT ARE NOT SURVIVABLE. WAVE

HEIGHTS ARE AMPLIFIED BY IRREGULAR SHORELINE AND ARE DIFFICULT TO

FORECAST. TSUNAMIS OFTEN APPEAR AS A STRONG SURGE AND MAY BE

PRECEDED BY A RECEDING WATER LEVEL.  MARINERS IN WATER DEEPER

THAN 600 FEET SHOULD NOT BE AFFECTED BY A TSUNAMI. WAVE HEIGHTS

WILL INCREASE RAPIDLY AS WATER SHALLOWS. TSUNAMIS ARE A SERIES OF

OCEAN WAVES WHICH CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE

INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL. DO NOT RETURN TO EVACUATED AREAS UNTIL AN

ALL CLEAR IS GIVEN BY LOCAL CIVIL AUTHORITIES.

THE TSUNAMI MESSAGE WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO... YOUR LOCAL TV OR RADIO STATIONS... OR SEE THE WEB SITE WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV .