Several earthquakes struck Northern California Thursday, including a preliminary magnitude-7.0 offshore in the Pacific Ocean at 10:44 a.m. PT that triggered a tsunami warning along coastal areas from Santa Cruz into Oregon.
The tsunami warning was canceled just before noon PT.
At least two other strong earthquakes were reported around the same time:
Smaller aftershocks were reported across the region into the afternoon.
People in Northern California shared footage of the 7.0 Magnitude earthquake that rattled the state Thursday.
Destructive tsunami ‘not on the table today’
Despite the scary tsunami warning and evacuation orders, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration later said that a damaging tsunami would not hit the West Coast.
Dave Snider, the Tsunami Warning Coordinator for NOAA, said the strength of the earthquake and the proximity to the shore forced it to issue the tsunami warning. But as his team continued to analyze the impact of the quake, it led them to believe that a dangerous tsunami would not strike California.
“For the U.S. West Coast, this is tricky stuff,” Snider said. “This is time-based. So we have to get that alert out, and then confirm, yes or no, that something is happening. In this case, thankfully, it looks like a destructive wave is not on the table today.”
Dave Snider, Tsunami Warning Coordinator at NOAA, said a destructive tsunami is not likely to occur following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the coast of California.
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