No Local Threat Seen From Tsunami Spawned by Canadian Quake

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/santa_barbara_news_no_local_threat_from_tsunami/

By Tom Bolton, Noozhawk Executive Editor | @tombol

A large earthquake centered in British Columbia has trigged tsunami warnings for some Pacific coast island and coastal areas, but local officials say California’s Central Coast is not at risk.

The quake, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale, occurred at about 8 p.m. local time in the area of the Queen Charlotte Islands, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii,” the National Weather Service said in a tsunami warning. “Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.”

The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management issued a statement at 8:25 p.m. Saturday, saying “the California coast is not currently expected to be at threat from this tsunami warning.”

The first tsunami wave was expected to hit the Hawaiian Islands at at about 1:30 a.m. PST Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the temblor, which was centered at 52.769°N 131.927°W about 90 miles south of Masset, British Columbia, at a depth of about 11 miles.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/santa_barbara_news_no_local_threat_from_tsunami/