A tsunami watch for the West Coast was issued Tuesday in response to a magnitude 7.9 earthquake off Alaska, but cancelled when it became clear no huge waves would materialize.
Until the cancellation, the watch issued by the National Tsunami Warning Center covered the coast from the California border with Mexico to the Washington border with British Columbia. California, Oregon and Washington state were included.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 1:31 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of about 6 miles, its epicenter 175 miles southeast of Kodiak City. The watch was issued at 2:24 a.m. and canceled two hours later.
Any tsunami resulting from the quake would have hit Oceanside, Encinitas and Mission Bay at 7 a.m.; La Jolla, Point Loma and San Diego Harbor at
7:05 a.m.; and Imperial Beach at 7:10 a.m.
Weather service meteorologist Andrew Rorke had said that if such a wave materialized, “boats in harbor will go nuts” but extensive coastal flooding would be unlikely.
But the quake was of the slip-strike variety and not capable of generating a tsunami, said weather service meteorologist Curt Kaplan.
Only a tsunami advisory applying to the Alaska coast remained Tuesday morning, he said.
City News Service contributed to this article.
