CA Tsunami Activity Continues: See Pictures Of Tsunami Aftermath

CALIFORNIA — Water levels continued to fluctuate along the California coast Sunday morning due to tsunami activity caused by an underwater volcano eruption, the National Weather Service reported.

The abnormal water levels Sunday aren’t expected to be as dramatic as Saturday, but lifeguards are, again, on alert for water rescues prompted by waves capable of producing strong currents. The eruption of the underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano near the island nation of Tonga Saturday, triggered tsunami activity across the entire Pacific Ocean continuing through the day Sunday.

Dave Snider, the tsunami warning coordinator for the National Tsunami Warning Center, said it was very unusual for a volcanic eruption to affect an entire ocean basin, and the spectacle was both “humbling and scary.”

It was for Savannah Peterson, who watched in shock as the water rose several feet in a matter of minutes in front of her oceanfront house in Pacifica, California, just south of San Francisco.
“It came up so fast, and a few minutes after that it was down again. It was nuts to see that happen so quickly,” she said Saturday. “I’ve never had water come all the way up to my front door, and today it did.”

SEE ALSO:

• Tsunami Advisory Issued For California Coast After Volcano Erupts
• Southlanders Urged To Stay Off Beaches Amid Tsunami
• Bay Area Residents Urged to Stay Off The Beaches Amid Tsunami

From San Diego To San Francisco, authorities shut down beaches up and down the coast, but the lure of empty beaches and big waves was too much for some swimmers and surfers.
A surfer in Ocean Beach had to be rescued by helicopter after his surfboard snapped in half about 200 yards from the shoreline, and the San Francisco Fire Department rescued dozens of beach-goers stuck in knee-deep waters with powerful currents, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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The tsunami waves caused damage to boats as far away as New Zealand and Santa Cruz, California, where a marina parking lot was also flooded by the rising water levels.

Overall, the tsunami activity did not appear to cause any widespread damage in California. Snider said he anticipated the tsunami situation in the U.S. and elsewhere to continue improving Sunday.

Tsunami advisories were issued Saturday for Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Pacific coast. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the eruption caused the equivalent of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. Scientists said tsunamis generated by volcanoes rather than earthquakes are relatively rare.

Earth imaging company Planet Labs PBC had watched the island in recent days after a new volcanic vent began erupting in late December. Satellite images showed how drastically the volcano had shaped the area, creating a growing island off Tonga.
“The surface area of the island appears to have expanded by nearly 45% due to ashfall,” Planet Labs said days before the latest activity.

Following Saturday’s eruption, residents in Hawaii, Alaska and along the U.S. Pacific coast were advised to move away from the coastline to higher ground.

A tsunami wave of about four feet struck Tonga, flooding the nation’s capital city. Ash from the eruption also rained down the island nation, and a day later the extent of the damage remained unclear.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.