Tsunami watch upgraded to advisory for much of B.C. coast after M8.8 quake off Russian coast

A tsunami watch for much of the British Columbia coast has been upgraded to an advisory following a powerful earthquake off the coast of eastern Russia.

“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,” the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Centre describes on its website. “The threat may continue for several hours after initial arrival, but significant inundation is not expected for areas under an advisory.”

The now recorded magnitude 8.8 quake struck 136 kilometres southeast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula shortly before 4:30 p.m. PST on Tuesday.

The Strait of Georgia, the Gulf Islands, Greater Vancouver and the Johnstone Strait are not affected.

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You can see detailed maps of the affected areas here.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami alert for the country’s Pacific coast warning of a tsunami of up to three metres, while a tsunami warning was also extended to Hawaii, detailing the potential to cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.

A tsunami watch is an advance notice that an area could be affected by an incoming tsunami, and is intended to give people time to prepare to take action.

They are issued when the level of danger posed by a potential tsunami is not yet known.

People who live in the affected zones are urged to get out of the ocean and away from beaches and harbours, to stay alert for further updates from local authorities and to minimize the use of phone lines.

Boat owners should, where time and conditions allow, move their vessel out to sea to a depth of at least 180 feet.

More to come…