9:49 PM: There’s a lot of conflicting information circulating right now so just in case you are confused or worried – yes, there WAS a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in B.C. but NO, there is NO tsunami warning for our state, anywhere. Here is the actual warning, ONLY for areas from the northern tip of Vancouver Island northward – Vancouver itself is not even affected. The warnings unfortunately are confusingly written – but “information only” for our area means nothing more than “we thought you might want to know that this warning is in effect SOMEPLACE ELSE.” Also, note that while “tsunami” no doubt conjures images of the terrifying events in Japan, much more often, it is barely a ripple. That said, *IF* there is ever a tsunami alert for someplace you are, do NOT wait around to see if it’s a ripple – get inland! – but once again, NO WARNING AFFECTING OUR STATE TONIGHT. We will of course keep watch. And this is always a great reminder for preparedness. (More on that in a separate story later!)
10:04 PM: To illustrate the above point, Canadian sources report a 44-centimeter-high wave at Langara Island in the Queen Charlottes Haida Gwaii area. Here’s how far away that is from us (and Vancouver):
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The newest version of the tsunami alert now includes an ADVISORY for the rest of the B.C. coast – still nothing for our state. Read it here, and watch for updates at tsunami.gov. (We will add that link to the WSB Weather page tonight so it’ll always be there for reference.)
11:12 PM UPDATE: A few more notes – while there is an *advisory* for Southern Oregon and Northern California (here’s the latest update, from half an hour ago), still nothing for any part of Washington. In B.C., they still haven’t seen anything higher than 50 centimeters (not even 2 feet high). As noted in comments, there’s an alert for Hawaii – here’s live coverage from a TV station there.
11:27 PM UPDATE: The alert for parts of B.C. and Alaska is downgraded to an advisory.
12:24 AM UPDATE: We’re continuing to listen to the Honolulu TV stream referenced above. Whatever they are going to get is expected to arrive in about an hour.
1:43 AM UPDATE: Still nothing of note in Hawaii, according to that TV stream. The warning is still in effect; the advisory for Alaska/BC has been canceled.
3:14 AM UPDATE: Hawaii still OK but no “all-clear” yet. No definitive word on how the remote areas near the epicenter fared, but we did hear via the Hawaii live stream a phone interview with a woman who was at a wedding in the area when the quake hit.
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