Tsunami Warning for WA Coast and Straight Sat. a.m. (Seattle: earthquake, dangerous)

[Ruth4Truth]

Following a volcanic explosion of the coast of Tonga yesterday, a tsunami warning has been issued for the entire US West Coast. Here are the details for Washington:

For Washington, starting after 8:30 a.m., strong currents and waves are possible in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and San Juan Islands, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center. A tsunami advisory is generally for waves of 1 to 3 feet, and that is the current expectation, according to officials.

People are advised to move off the beach, harbors and marinas in these areas. Here, according to the center, are the estimated times for the first waves, which are not expected to be the strongest waves:

Long Beach, 8:35 a.m.
La Push, 8:45 a.m.
Neah Bay, 8:50 a.m.
Westport, 8:50 a.m.
Moclips, 8:55 a.m.
Port Angeles, 9:30 a.m.
Port Townsend, 9:55 a.m.

(Seattle Times)

It's expected to hit parts of CA first.

[Diana Holbrook]

Been following the Long Beach and Ocean Shores facebook groups this morning, not seeing anything notable reported yet.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Been following the Long Beach and Ocean Shores facebook groups this morning, not seeing anything notable reported yet.

Thanks. On another thread, someone in coastal OR said the waves are only a little over a foot high (so far). Not a big deal. That's good news.

[MechAndy]

Nothing was noticeable at our place .

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

Nothing was noticeable at our place .

Great. I'm glad everyone's safe.

[pnwguy2]

As most of these are, mostly with non dangerous waves. The problem with this is it creates complacency, and the next one may or may not be more severe.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

As most of these are, mostly with non dangerous waves. The problem with this is it creates complacency, and the next one may or may not be more severe.

What I noticed about some of the footage from the Indonesian earthquake that sent major tsunami waves around the world, was that in some areas, the waves didn't look big. What it looked like was, that the water just kept coming. And coming. Higher and higher. It looked like a toilet overflowing; it doesn't happen in a wave, but the water just keeps coming until it's all over everything.

So the "big wave" concept isn't always how it happens. And that, too, is deceptive. So people could look out, and perceive "non-dangerous waves". But before they know it, the streets are flooded.

Someone posted a video of this recent tsunami flooding one of the rivers in Humboldt County, CA, up by the Oregon border. The ocean water just kept coming in what appeared to be mere ripples. Very un-dramatic, ho hum. But it was continuous over what turned out to be a couple of hours, only a portion of which was in the video. The ocean kept up a steady, non-scary-looking invasion of the river. The video of course didn't show how far upstream it ended up going, but the terrain is flat for a few miles at least.

This made me wonder what the effect was along the beaches, and the low-lying farmland adjacent to one of the beach areas. We might think "nothing happened" with this tsunami. But it would depend on where we looked.

[rkcarguy]

I heard on the coast it was about 1-2' waves, and only measuring 4" at places in the sound.

"Someone posted a video of this recent tsunami flooding one of the rivers in Humboldt County, CA, up by the Oregon border. The ocean water just kept coming in what appeared to be mere ripples. Very un-dramatic, ho hum. But it was continuous over what turned out to be a couple of hours, only a portion of which was in the video. The ocean kept up a steady, non-scary-looking invasion of the river. The video of course didn't show how far upstream it ended up going, but the terrain is flat for a few miles at least."

This is kind of how they play out, its like the tide coming in fast and with each little wave the water level keeps coming up and up. I watched a video where one of these came into a inlet/marina and everyone was like no big deal, well soon the docks were at the tops of their pilings with water over the tops of them and boats being pulled down by their moorings.

Predicting these is very difficult as there is so many variables. The size, location, and direction, of the quake or explosion, the underwater topography of the shore as the waves approach, and the frequency of the shaking which could make a whole bunch of little waves hardly noticeable, or one big one.

[MechAndy]

You are right that there are many variables.
Your geographic location could almost be considered a micro area in the grand scale of things.
Things like water depth and possible obstructions like bays, jetties and things of that nature.

Just a long 3 foot wave pulling debris back to sea is a super scary thing.
At 8 feet damage and fatalities are enormous.

BTW did any of you hear an alarm or warning siren ?

[Racer46]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

What I noticed about some of the footage from the Indonesian earthquake that sent major tsunami waves around the world, was that in some areas, the waves didn't look big. What it looked like was, that the water just kept coming. And coming. Higher and higher. It looked like a toilet overflowing; it doesn't happen in a wave, but the water just keeps coming until it's all over everything.

So the "big wave" concept isn't always how it happens. And that, too, is deceptive. So people could look out, and perceive "non-dangerous waves". But before they know it, the streets are flooded.

Someone posted a video of this recent tsunami flooding one of the rivers in Humboldt County, CA, up by the Oregon border. The ocean water just kept coming in what appeared to be mere ripples. Very un-dramatic, ho hum. But it was continuous over what turned out to be a couple of hours, only a portion of which was in the video. The ocean kept up a steady, non-scary-looking invasion of the river. The video of course didn't show how far upstream it ended up going, but the terrain is flat for a few miles at least.

This made me wonder what the effect was along the beaches, and the low-lying farmland adjacent to one of the beach areas. We might think "nothing happened" with this tsunami. But it would depend on where we looked.

Yes, a Tsunami is not just a big/tall wave it is a large amount of water being driven forward and it .. keeps coming and coming and ... well coming. Not deep at first but the water builds depth as it flows in.