Tsunami warning along Northern California coast canceled, Bay Area residents react

PETROLIA, Calif - A tsunami warning that was in effect on Thursday stretching from the California-Oregon border south down to Davenport in Santa Cruz County was canceled shortly before noon.  

The warning was issued following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Humboldt County, centered near the community of Petrolia at 10:44 a.m. 

The National Weather Service (NWS) had estimated a tsunami could hit San Francisco at 12:10 p.m. 

Areas including Fremont West of Interstate 880 and West Berkeley had responded with evacuation orders.         

"If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground. Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is possible or is already occurring," the weather service had said in its warning. "Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous many hours after initial arrival time.  The first wave may not be the largest." 

"It didn’t seem possible to have a tsunami here," said Mr. Vilayngeun, a manager at Seabreeze Market on University Avenue near the Berkeley Marina, who temporarily evacuated with staff as police arrived.

"They blocked off the marina, a bunch of other officers went down to the marina, got everyone evacuated," added Logesh Samy, an employee at Seabreeze Market. Both said they were grateful for the response officers.

NWS meteorologist Troy Nicolini told KTVU the warning was issued "to air on the side of caution," as emergency agencies have limited time to respond in the event of a tsunami. 

The NWS previously shared the following information regarding the tsunami warning:

Estimated tsunami start times for selected sites:

• Fort Bragg         California         1110 AM.  PST. December 5.
• Crescent City      California         1120 AM.  PST. December 5.
• Port Orford        Oregon             1120 AM.  PST. December 5.
• Brookings          Oregon             1125 AM.  PST. December 5.
• Charleston         Oregon             1140 AM.  PST. December 5.
• San Francisco      California         1210 PM.  PST. December 5.

"It’s really a subtle effect between an earthquake that can cause a very large tsunami and one that doesn’t at all, and that has to do with what direction the fault moves. If it’s moving side to side it’s not very likely to push up a big pile of water and make a tsunami, but if the fault moves [up and down] then it does," said Emily Brodsky, Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, who added that she felt the tsunami warning was warranted.

During the alert, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management advised people to move away from coastal areas and at least one block inland.

"A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact coasts near you," the agency said on social media. "You are in danger. Get away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Keep away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return."

Emergency officials warned people to get inland to avoid danger. Many people around the city did not heed that warning.

"We thought we were going to be wiped away. We thought this was it, so I rushed home. I said get to the top of the highest hill, head for the hills I said, and we did," said San Francisco resident, Luke.  

The alert hit mobile phones throughout San Francisco at 10:51 a.m.

Firefighters said any warning from the national weather service should be taken seriously. 

"People were going down to the waterfront to look at the tsunami," said Justin Schorr from the San Francisco Fire Department. "If you can see it or hear it, the scientists say it's already too late. If you get the alert on your phone, take it seriously. Today was not a false alarm, it was an actual alert."

From SkyFOX, you could see as emergency crews traveled along Ocean Beach warning visitors to seek high ground or move inland. 

Instead, many people flocked to the shoreline. 

The tsunami was projected to impact the coastline along the Golden Gate. National park crews closed fort point to vehicles and pedestrians to get visitors out of harms way.

Riley Prout was among those making his way to the shoreline to check if there was anything to see. 

"Nothing yet, but we sitting and waiting to see what happens," said Prout.

Prout said he was prepared to make a quick escape if necessary and felt ready. 

"I do. I'm in turbo mode right now," said Prout. "So, this bad boy can go 40 miles per hour and get me out of trouble."

Emergency officials say they will be reviewing what went right and what went wrong Thursday to fine tune their response to the next disaster. 

They say Bay Area residents should do the same, and prepare emergency plans and prepare to be on their own for 72 hours when disaster strikes. 

"I think this is a gift from mother nature, because it allows us to go through the rigors of how would we in fact do this if something very, very serious transpired," said former FEMA disaster coordinator Mark Neveau.