UPDATE, Wednesday, 8:20 a.m.: Remember — the tsunami is small by tsunami standards, but that doesn’t mean you want to go frolicking in the waves.

Seriously: Give the ocean a healthy amount of respect — all days, but today in particular. The currents and the surf are choppy and unpredictable. Stay well away from the shore.

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UPDATE, Wednesday, 6:45 a.m.: Earlier this morning Humboldt’s status was downgraded from a tsunami warning to a tsunami advisory. 

Eureka’s National Weather Service crew has been dutifully on this all night. A few hours ago, they noted the maximum confirmed wave height in Humboldt Bay to be 1.2 feet. Maximum wave height in Crescent City was observed to be 3.6 feet.

If you’d like an actual visual of our coast not being washed away, LoCO drove up to the Table Bluff overlook of the South Spit at sunrise. Here’s what that looked like.

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UPDATE, 11 p.m.: Local officials have booted up a video livestream to discuss all things tsunami. Tune in below:

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UPDATE, 9:29 p.m.: Perhaps in response to the scary, blaring message we all got on our phones a bit ago, the Eureka-based arm of the National Weather Service is going out of their way to soothe our anxieties, posting just now:

Humboldt County is NOT at high risk of inundation of dry land from a tsunami. This highest risk of inundation is directed toward Crescent City, where 3-5 foot maximum tsunami waves are expected. Humboldt County is expected to have 1-2 foot maximum tsunami waves.

More on that loud message we referenced above: Multiple local agencies now indicate that was sent out in error. As a result, EPD reports they are now “receiving a high volume of calls.”

“[T]here is no immediate threat of widespread flooding,” EPD says. “However, community members should stay out of the water and away from beaches and waterways.”

Again, be safe but chill, Humboldt

—Andrew Goff

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UPDATE, 9 p.m.: It’s worth noting that the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group — the people who most know their business on this matter, locally — are pretty chill about this tsunami warning, at least insofar as Humboldt County is concerned. 

As they write on their Facebook page:

The coast of Humboldt and Del Norte County have now been placed in tsunami WARNING following this afternoon’s earthquake in the NW Pacific near Kamchatka. The magnitude has been revised to 8.8, making this earthquake tied for 6th place on the largest earthquake of all times. The main reason for issuing the Warning was concern that areas around Crescent Harbor could experience surges of close to 6 feet in height causing some flooding in low lying areas. The rest of the California coast remains in an Advisory status.

What should you do? This event is not our worst case tsunami threat and is only likely to flood lower areas near beaches and harbors especially at high tide. Don’t go to the beach to look for a tsunami - it will be dark and there won’t be anything to see. The best way to watch a tsunami is online - click on any of the tide gauges at this link.

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UPDATE, 8:40 p.m.: In the fifth updated bulletin, the California Coast north of Cape Mendocino has been updated to a tsunami “warning” — meaning “significant inundation” is forecast to occur. 

The detailed forecast still expects the first waves to arrive at 11:55 p.m. at the North Spit weather station. The tsunami is expected to last 20 hours, with a wave amplitude of .62 meters, or just about two feet.

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UPDATE, 6:35 p.m.: The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center has just issued a third updated bulletin for the West Coast of the United States, and it now places us under a tsunami advisory — meaning we are almost certainly getting a wave. It is scheduled to arrive just before midnight, and to last for some time.

The text product doesn’t give much information on predictions for Humboldt County in particular, but the XML data dump associated with the event shows a prediction of about a foot and a half of wave amplitude on the North Spit, and that the event is expected to last 18 hours.

As usual, it’s much worse in Crescent City, with a wave of 3.1 to 5.7 feet, and lasting 36 hours.

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ORIGINAL POST:

A huge, 8.7 earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka a few minutes ago has left the West Coast of the United States under a tsunami watch.

A “watch” is the lowest form of alert, basically asking residents to be aware of further developments as higher levels of danger could be possible. Follow the National Tsunami Warning Center on Facebook for the latest information, or go directly to its site — tsunami.gov — for the latest information. Be sure to look for information pertaining to our region in particular, as there could be higher levels of alert in other places.

From the U.S. Tsunami Warning System:

Tsunami Message Number 2
Earthquake Information

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Location: 315 miles SW of Bering I., Komandorski
Lat: 52.200
Lon: 160.000
Magnitude: 8.7
Origin Time: 2025-07-29T23:24:56 UTC [PDT, AKDT]
Depth: 74 kilometers

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Warning

A tsunami Warning is now in effect which includes the coastal areas of Alaska from Samalga Pass, Alaska (30 miles SW of Nikolski) to Attu, Alaska.

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Advisory

The tsunami Advisory is modified to include the coastal areas of Alaska from Chignik Bay, Alaska to Samalga Pass, Alaska (30 miles SW of Nikolski).

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Watch

A tsunami Watch is now in effect which includes the coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska from The Cal./Mexico Border to Chignik Bay, Alaska.

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Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is expected or occurring. Warnings indicate that widespread dangerous coastal flooding accompanied by powerful currents are possible and may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival.

Tsunami advisories mean that a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to people in or very near the water is expected. Significant widespread inundation is not expected for areas under an advisory. Currents may be hazardous to swimmers, boats, and coastal structures and may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival.

Tsunami watches are an advance notice to areas that could be impacted by a tsunami at a later time. Watch areas may be upgraded to warning or advisory status, or canceled, based on new information or analysis. People in a watch area should closely follow subsequent tsunami messages.

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Actions:

Pacific coastal regions outside California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska should refer to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center messages for information on this event at tsunami.gov.

Additional Information and Next Update:

* The tsunami message will remain in effect until further notice.
* Refer to the internet site tsunami.gov for more information.
* This message will be updated in 60 minutes or sooner if the situation warrants.