Tsunami Advisory Canceled For San Francisco Bay Area, Remains Near Santa Cruz

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — An undersea volcano erupted near the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday, sending tsunami waves crashing across the shore and tsunami advisories for Hawaii, Alaska, and the U.S. Pacific coast.

The National Tsunami Warning Center canceled a tsunami advisory for San Francisco on Saturday evening, but as of Saturday night remains in effect near Santa Cruz down to Rincoin Point, according to the National Weather Service Bay Area.

The tsunami arrived in pulses of surging water levels that can pull people out to sea, similar to high tides, the National Weather Service said.

Although the advisory was in place for the West Delta, there are no impacts to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Jay Lund, Co-Director at the Center for Watershed Sciences, said there was not enough energy for the tsunami to impact the Delta.

"Just like if you go in your bathtub, and drop something in one end of the bathtub, you'd create a wave that travels across the bathtub until the end of time," said Lund.

He said that although there were no impacts in this tsunami, the tsunami advisories should be taken seriously.

"It's a little bit like a fire alarm. When you hear a fire alarm, you're not sure how big the fire's gonna be, but you sure want to pay attention," said Lund. 

The California Office of Emergency Services released a statement that they are in close contact with the U.S. Coast Guard, local law enforcement, fire departments, emergency managers, and state agency partners.

Cal OES statement continued:

"The State Operations Center at Cal OES is activated to support response operations and local government as required and state personnel from State Parks, CHP and Cal Trans will all be out along coastal highways monitoring potential sea level raise or wave action."

Cal OES will also monitor tide gauges in impacted areas.